EXCHANGE 


J 


THE  TAMING 

OF 
THE   JUNGLE 

THIRD    EDITION 


THE  TAMING 

OF 

THE  JUNGLE 

BY 

DR.   C.  W.   DOYLE 


PHILADELPHIA  &  LONDON 
J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

1899 


COPYRIGHT,  1899 

BY 
J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 


PRINTED  BY  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY,  PHILADELPHIA,  U.  8,  A. 


Preface 


FOR  a  better  understanding  of  this  story, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  say  a  few  words 
concerning  the  people  of  the  Terai,  —  the 
great  tract  of  jungle  that  skirts  the  foot-hills 
of  the  Himalayas,  in  the  Province  of  Ku- 
maon.  They  are  a  simple,  primitive  folk, 
and  migratory  in  their  ways  :  inhabiting  the 
interior  valleys  of  the  hills  in  the  hot 
weather  and  the  monsoon,  and  the  foot 
hills  and  the  Terai  during  the  winter. 

In  official  reports  they  are  described  as 
"low-caste  Hindoos;"  but  they  are  as  far 
removed  from  the  low-caste  Hindoos  of  the 
plains,  on  the  one  hand,  as  they  are  from 
the  high-caste  Rajpoots,  who  are  the  gentry 
of  Kumaon,  on  the  other.  The  monstrous 
Pantheism  of  the  Brahmin  is  unknown  to 
them,  and  the  ritual  and  severe  limitations 
of  caste  that  shackle  the  former  in  all  the 
relations  of  life  have  no  influence  on  the 
5 


343967 


Preface 

Padhans  of  Kumaon.  Tending  their  flocks 
and  their  herds,  and  cultivating  their 
terraced  fields  in  the  summer  and  their 
patches  of  rye  and  corn  in  the  winter,  they 
pass  lives  of  Arcadian  simplicity  among 
scenes  that  surpass  Ida  and  Olympus  in 
beauty,  and  which  vie  with  the  glades  of 
Eden,  as  Milton  and  Tennyson  described 
them. 

"Me  rather,  all  that  bowery  loneliness, 
The  brooks  of  Eden  mazily  murmuring, 
And  bloom  profuse,  and  cedar  arches  charm." 

Tennyson  might  have  written  that  of  the 
Terai  in  midwinter.  And  its  people  con 
form,  as  might  be  expected,  to  their  envi 
ronment  Life  among  them  is  found  at 
first  hand  :  their  loves  and  hates  are  ingen 
uous,  and  present  social  aspects  that  must 
vanish  before  the  march  of  civilization. 

The  critics  may  object  to  the  manner 
of  the  courtship  of  Tara,  as  not  being  in 
accord  with  the  marriage  customs  of  the 
natives  of  India.  To  them  I  would  reply, 
that  the  experience  of  a  dozen  years  spent 
in  intimate  relations  with,  and  in  close  ob- 
6 


Preface 

servation  of,  the  Kumaon  Padhans,  has  sat 
isfied  me  that  these  children  of  nature  are 
guided  strongly  by  their  natural  feelings  ; 
and  that,  in  the  selection  of  their  wives, 
they  are  as  often  swayed  by  their  affections 
as  we  are. 

C.  W.  DOYLE. 
SANTA  CRUZ,  CALIFORNIA,  January,  1899. 


Contents 


CHAPTER  PACK 

I.  A  JUNGLE  VENDETTA n 

II.  HASTEEN 18 

III.  THE  HUNTING  OF  CHEETA  DUTT.     ...  26 

IV.  THE  SPOILING  OF  NYAGONG 42 

V.  THE  WOMAN  IN  THE  CARRIAGE 54 

VI.  FOR  THE  TRAINING  OF  BIROO 69 

VII.  CHANDNI 82 

VIII.  ONE  THOUSAND  RUPEES  REWARD  ....  93 

IX.  THE  ROPE  THAT  HANGED  BIJOO    ....  108 

X.  CCELUM,  NON  ANIMUM  MUTANT    ....  120 

XI.  THE  LAME  TIGER  OF  HULDWANI  ....  133 

XII.  How  NANDHA  WAS  AVENGED 141 

XIII.  AN  AFFRONT  TO  GANNESHA 150 

XIV.  A  DAUGHTER  OF  THE  GODS 169 

XV.  "!CH  LIEBE  DICH" 178 

XVI.  THE  SMOKING  OF  A  HORNETS'  NEST    .   .  189 


CHAPTER   I 

A  "Jungle  Vendetta 

THIS  was  the  way  of  it,"  said  Ram 
Deen  to  a  circle  of  listeners  sitting 
round  a  fire  by  the  side  of  the  jungle  road 
near  Lai  Kooah.  (Ram  Deen  drove  the 
mail-cart  in  its  final  stage  to  Kaladoongie, 
and  with  his  relay  of  fresh  horses  was 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  mail.  He  was, 
next  to  the  Assistant  Superintendent  of  the 
Forest  Department  of  the  District,  a  power 
on  the  road,  and  his  audience,  accordingly, 
listened  to  him  with  due  respect.)  "This 
was  the  way  of  it :  I  owed  Bheem  Dass 
one  rupee  and  six  annas  for  flour  and 
pulse  and  ghee,  and  my  donkey  fell  sick, 
so  that  he  could  not  be  forced  by  goad, 
nor  by  the  lighting  of  a  fire  beneath  him, 
to  rise  ;  and  I  could  not  convey  my  earthen 
ware  to  Moradabad  and  sell  it,  and  so  re 
move  the  galling  of  Bheem  Dass's  tongue. 
"Then  the  Thanadar  came,  and  read 
ii 


The  Taming  cf  the  Jungle 

script  to  me  that  was  written  on  govern 
ment  paper,  whereof  I  understood  but 
little,  save  that  the  words  were  Urdu,  and 
sounded  very  terrible  to  me,  who  speak 
Gamari  only,  and  am  a  poor  man.  And 
he  took  my  potter's  wheel  from  me,  and 
bade  his  chuprassi  beat  me  then,  and  daily 
thereafter  at  noon — twelve  strokes  each 
day — till  I  made  restitution  to  Bheem 
Dass. 

"Brothers,  we  be  all  poor  men  here, 
and  ye  know  that  God  hath  not  given  us 
understanding  save  to  suffer  stripes  like 
beasts  of  burden,  and  to  sleep  and  eat 
when  we  can,  and  beget  children  to  suc 
ceed  to  our  blows." 

There  was  a  deep  "humph"  of  assent 
when  he  had  ceased  speaking.  The  little 
man  who  freighted  village  produce  from 
Kaladoongie  to  Moradabad  by  bullock- 
cart  said,  as  he  handed  Ram  Deen  the 
hookah  that  was  circling  round  the  fire, 
"A  knife-thrust  in  the  dark  has  settled 
heavier  scores  than  thine  ;"  and  one  sug 
gested  a  blow  from  a  weighted  bamboo 
club,  and  another  the  evil  eye  ;  but  Ram 

12 


A  Jungle  Vendetta 

Been  smoked  in  silence,  and  after  they 
had  all  had  their  say  he  passed  the  hookah 
to  his  neighbor  and  went  on  : 

"Whenas  my  back  smarted  shrewdly 
that  night  from  the  blows  of  the  chup- 
rassi's  shoe,  so  that  I  could  not  sleep,  I 
took  the  oil  from  my  chirag  and  anointed 
my  back  therewith.  As  soon  as  the  false 
dawn  blinked  in  the  east  I  made  a  fire  and 
light,  without  waking  my  son — my  babe, 
Buldeo,  and  he  without  a  mother — and  I 
made  store  of  chupattis  with  all  the  flour 
that  was  left,  putting  the  remainder  of  the 
ghee  on  the  first  batch.  Then  I  dug  up 
three  rupees  and  two  annas  that  I  had 
buried  under  the  hearth,  and  waking  Bul 
deo  I  fed  him  ;  and  whilst  he  ate  I  made  a 
bundle  of  such  things  as  even  a  poor  man 
has  need  of, — a  blanket,  a  hookah  and 
lotah,  and  shoes  to  wear  through  the  vil 
lages,  and  the  food  I  had  prepared. 

"And  ere  the  village  cocks  waked  or 
the  minas  and  crows  and  green  parrots 
opened  council  in  the  peepul  trees,  Buldeo 
and  I  were  footing  the  jungle  path  to  Nya- 
gong,  he  holding  his  hand  over  his  head  to 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

reach  mine,  for  he  was  but  three  years  in 
age. 

"  And  when  we  had  proceeded  a  mile  or 
twain  into  the  jungle  Buldeo  spake  and 
said,  'Thy  man-child  is  tired.'  And  I  set 
him  on  my  shoulder,  and  so  carried  him 
until  the  sun  began  to  shoot  slant  rays 
from  the  west.  Whereon  we  stopped  and 
ate ;  and,  after,  I  fastened  him  with  my 
waistband  in  the  fork  of  a  tree,  saying, 
'Son  of  mine,  bide  here  till  I  return,  and 
be  not  afraid/ 

"Then,  collecting  grass  and  scrub,  I 
made  a  circle  of  fire  round  the  tree, 
and  sped  back  to  the  village  ;  and  as  the 
bell  tolled  the  hour  of  ten  that  night  a 
flame  leaped  up  from  the  hut  of  the 
bunnia,  Bheem  Dass,  to  whom  I  owed 
money. 

"  Ere  I  returned  to  the  jungle  path  I 
could  hear  Bheem  Dass  shout  as  a  man 
being  beaten,  '  ram  dhwy !  ram  dhwy !'  and 
the  smart  on  my  back  waxed  easier." 

By  this  time  the  hookah  had  made  the 
round  of  the  circle  and  once  more  reached 
Ram  Deen,  and  as  he  paused  again  to 
14 


A  Jungle  Vendetta 

"drink  tobacco"  his  listeners  made  com 
ment  : 

"  Wah !  coach-wan  ji,"  said  the  little 
carrier,  "knives  may  be  blunt  and  clubs 
cracked,  but  fire  loveth  stubble  and  thatch. 
Ho,  ho  !" 

And  Ram  Deen  smiled  grimly  as  he 
passed  the  hookah  to  his  neighbor,  who 
said  as  he  took  it,  "And  what  of  thy 
man-child,  Buldeo?" 

Ram  Deen  tucked  the  ends  of  his  parted 
beard  under  his  turban,  and  spitting  bravely 
into  the  fire  to  conceal  the  tremor  in  his 
voice,  he  said,  "As  the  dawn  broke  I 
reached  the  tree  whereon  I  had  fastened 
my  son.  When  I  came  near,  a  pack  of 
jackals  that  had  been  worrying  something 
under  the  tree  slunk  away.  The  child  was 
not  to  be  seen,  but  the  bark  of  the  tree 
was  scored  with  the  talons  of  a  leopard, 
and  at  its  foot  was  a  small  red  cap  and  a 
handful  of  fresh  bones." 

Ram  Deen  puffed  the  hookah  in  silence 
when  it  reached  him  again. 

By  and  by,  in  response  to  the  expec 
tation  of  his  listeners,  he  said,  "Bheem 
15 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

Dass  rode  after  me  on  the  mail-cart  to 
Kaladoongie  that  night.  I  knew  he  would 
come,  and  therefore  I  brake  the  telegraph 
wire  and  fastened  it  across  the  road  a  foot 
above  the  ground.  When  the  horse 
stumbled  over  it  and  fell  the  driver  was 
thrown  on  his  head  and  killed.  But  Bheem 
Dass  lay  groaning  on  the  road  with  a  broken 
thigh-bone. 

"And  I  held  a  lamp  taken  from  the  cart 
to  my  face,  so  that  he  should  know  me, 
and  I  spat  and  stamped  on  him ;  and 
thereafter  I  mounted  the  mail-cart  and 
drove  it  over  his  skull  as  he  screamed  for 
mercy. 

"  I  took  the  mail  to  Kaladoongie,  and  it 
was  told  the  sahib-log  that  the  mail-cart 
had  been  overturned  and  the  coach-wan 
and  Bheem  Dass  killed  ;  and  they  made 
me  driver  because  the  road  was  unsafe  and 
I  had  shown  them  that  I  was  not  afraid. 

"  Ye  are  poor  men  and  know  naught, — 
knowledge  dieth  suddenly !" 

And  the  bullock  driver  said,  "  Ho,  ho  ! 
coach-wan  sahib,  we  be  poor  men  and 
know  nothing,  and  are  fain  to  live." 

16 


A  Jungle  Vendetta 

The  mail-cart  drove  up  in  a  few  minutes 
out  of  the  darkness,  the  horses  were  rapidly 
changed,  and  Ram  Deen  dashed  off  into 
the  jungle  with  a  brave  tarantara. 


CHAPTER   II 

Hasteen 

RAM  BEEN,"  said  the  stout  Thana- 
dar  of  Kaladoongie,  "it  is  by  the 
order  of  the  sircar  (government)  that  I 
question  thee  concerning  this  jungle  wan 
derer.  Whatsoever  thou  sayest  will  be  set 
down  by  the  munshi  and  laid  before  the 
commissioner  sahib." 

The  "wanderer"  put  one  hand  on  a 
tubby  stomach  that  ill-assorted  with  his 
attenuated  limbs,  and  with  the  fingers  of 
the  other  in  close  apposition  he  pointed  to 
his  mouth,  whining  and  saying  to  those 
round  him,  "  Oh,  my  father  and  my 
mother,  we  be  hungry, — Hasteen  and  I." 

He  was  a  wee  little  manikin  of  the 
chamar  (tanner)  caste,  and  about  six  years 
old.  There  was  not  a  rag  on  him,  save  a 
sorry  whisp  of  puggri  that  made  no  pre 
tence  of  covering  the  top-knot  of  hair 
which  all  Hindoos  of  the  male  sex,  and  of 
18 


Hasteen 

whatever  caste,  wear  on  their  heads  as  a 
handle  for  the  transportation  of  their  souls 
to  heaven. 

He  crouched  in  front  of  the  fire  of  cow- 
pats  and  grass,  holding  up  his  little  hands 
to  the  blaze,  and  beside  him  lay  a  huge 
pariah  dog  with  its  head  on  his  lap.  One 
of  its  ears  had  been  recently  cut  off  close 
to  the  skull,  and  it  moved  the  bloody 
stump  to  and  fro  as  the  heat  of  the  fire  fell 
on  it.  When  any  one  approached  the  little 
chamar  the  dog  growled  threateningly,  and 
the  small  crowd  of  listeners  was  fain  to 
keep  at  a  respectful  distance. 

"Thanadar  ji,"  replied  Ram  Deen,  the 
redoubtable  driver  of  the  mail-cart  to  Kala- 
doongie,  "the  night  air  is  shrewd,  and  it 
were  well  to  feed  the  little  one  and  to  put 
a  blanket  round  him  ere  I  tell  you  of  his 
finding." 

"Ay,  and  forget  not  Hasteen,"  said  the 
small  chamar,  pointing  to  the  dog.  When 
the  great  beast  heard  its  name  it  slapped 
its  tail  against  the  ground. 

A  woman  standing  on  the  outskirt  of  the 
crowd  took  off  her  chudder  and  passed  it 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

to  Ram  Deen,  who,  keeping  a  wary  eye  on 
Hasteen,  wrapped  it  round  the  little  waif; 
and  Tulsi  Ram,  the  village  pundit,  also 
handed  his  blanket  to  Ram  Deen.  By  the 
time  the  little  one  was  duly  happed  up, 
Gunga  Ram,  the  fat  sweetmeat  vendor, 
returned  with  a  tray  of  cates  and  milk, 
sufficient  for  three  grown  men,  and  set  it 
before  the  new  arrival,  who,  to  his  honor 
be  it  told,  shared  bite  and  bite  with  his 
four-footed  friend.  And  between  mouth- 
fuls  he  answered  questions  and  told  his 
story  to  the  Thanadar  : 

"My  name,  Most  Honorable,  is  Biroo, 
and  we  be  chamars  of  the  village  of  Bud- 
raon, — my  father  and  mother,  Hasteen  and 
I.  There  were  none  others  of  our  family, 
and  Hasteen  and  I  be  brothers,  for  we 
sucked  the  same  pap,  and  that  my 
mother's,  as  she  hath  so  often  told  me.  I 
am  the  older  by  three  months,  wherefore 
he  mindeth  me. 

" Whence  is  Hasteen's  name?  How 
should  I  know,  Protector  of  the  Poor  ?  I 
am  but  a  poor  man  and  know  naught." 

Tulsi  Ram,  the  pundit,  ventured  to  throw 

20 


Hasteen 

some  light  on  the  derivation  of  Hasteen's 
name.  He  hoped,  ere  he  died,  to  pass  the 
entrance  examination  of  the  Calcutta  Uni 
versity  ;  and,  after  the  manner  of  his  kind, 
he  was  preparing  himself  for  it  by  the  slow 
and  steady  process  of  learning  the  pre 
scribed  text-books  off  by  heart. 

"Thanadar  ji,  the  dog  hath  its  name 
from  Warren  Hasteen,  the  great  sahib  who 
killed  the  Kings  of  Delhi,  as  thou  wottest, 
and  daily  fed  on  young  babes,  whereof 
midwives  and  old  women  who  saw  him  tell 
to  this  day.  And,  moreover,  he  was  a  great 
fighter." 

"Wah,  Tulsi  Ram!"  exclaimed  the 
Thanadar,  "thou  shalt  yet  become  a  baboo 
in  the  post-office  at  Naini  Tal." 

"But  there  never  was  fighter  like  Has 
teen,"  said  the  little  chamar,  whose  cour 
age  rose  as  his  hunger  abated,  and  rolling 
up  a  chupatti  he  gave  it  to  the  dog,  who 
made  one  mouthful  of  it.  "He  hath 
blackened  the  faces  of  all  the  dogs  of  our 
village,"  he  went  on;  "and  last  winter  he 
overcame  a  dog  of  fierce  countenance  and 
crooked  legs,  that  belonged  to  the  sahib 

21 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

who  camped  near  our  village,  and  left  it 
for  dead  on  the  plain  ;  and  the  sahib  would 
have  beaten  me,  but  Hasteen  rose  upon 
him  and  threw  him  down,  and  stood  over 
him  till  I  smote  Hasteen  with  my  bamboo 
club  and  dragged  him  off  the  sahib.  Ah, 
thou  wicked  one,  thou  budmash  !"  and  the 
great  beast  cowered  before  the  wee  man's 
threatening  finger  and  licked  his  feet. 
"And  therefrom  came  all  our  woes,  for 
our  folk  drave  us  from  Budraon,  fearing 
trouble  for  the  killing  of  the  sahib's  dog, 
and  my  father  would  have  slain  Hasteen, 
but  I  restrained  him.  So  we  went  to  Nya- 
gong,  and  there  thieves  came  by  night  and 
would  have  despoiled  us  of  our  hides,  but 
Hasteen  prevented  them ;  and  thereafter 
the  son  of  the  Jamadar  of  Nyagong,  who 
was  a  vain  fellow  and  wore  his  turban 
awry,  walked  lame  for  many  a  day ;  and 
the  bunnia  (shopkeeper),  who  is  the  Jama- 
dar's  brother,  put  ground  glass  in  the  raw 
sugar  he  sold  us — for  so  my  father  said — 
and  my  mother  died. 

"  Last  week  my  father  came  not  home, 
and  for  three  days  I  saw  him  not ;  then — 

22 


Hasteen 

I  looking  on — they  drew  a  man  out  of  the 
village  well  with  his  hands  tied  behind  his 
back  and  a  great  stone  fastened  to  his  feet, 
— and  it  was  my  father  ! 

"And  this  night  a  flame  leaped  up  from 
our  hut,  and  Hasteen  went  swiftly  forth 
into  the  moonlight,  his  crest  standing  on 
his  neck  and  back.  I  followed  with  what 
haste  I  could,  and  thereafter  I  came  up 
with  Hasteen,  and  he  lay  beside  a  dead 
man,  whose  eyes  were  wide  open  and  on 
whose  lips  was  froth,  and  a  sharp  knife  in 
his  hand  ; — and  it  was  the  son  of  the  Jam- 
adar  ! 

"Thereupon  I  caught  Hasteen  by  one 
ear  and  smote  him  on  the  other, — for  he 
had  done  this  killing  ;  and  the  hand  where 
with  I  smote  him  was  covered  with  blood,  so 
I  saw  his  hurt,  and  that  he  had  lost  an  ear. 

"And  the  villagers  waked  whenas  they 
heard  the  crackling  of  the  flames  from  our 
hut  and  the  barking  of  the  village  dogs  ; 
and  Hasteen  and  I  ran  towards  the  road 
that  leads  to  Kaladoongie,  being  more 
fearful  of  the  men  of  Nyagong  than  of  the 
wild  things  of  the  jungle. 
23 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

"  When  we  came  to  the  bridge  over  the 
Bore  Nuddee  my  feet  were  tired>  and  call 
ing  Hasteen  to  me  for  warmth  I  set  my 
back  to  the  wall  of  the  bridge  and  so  fell 
asleep  ;  and  now  that  I  have  eaten  of  thy 
bounty  I  would  fain  sleep  again,"  and  the 
little  man  yawned  in  the  presence  of  the 
most  august  assembly  he  had  ever  faced. 

"It  was  thus  I  found  him,  Thanadar  ji," 
said  Ram  Deen,  "and  I  came  none  too 
soon.  A  mile  from  the  bridge  I  heard  the 
hunting  bay  of  a  gray  wolf,  and  when  I 
came  nearer  I  could  see  in  the  moonlight, 
crouched  beside  the  end  of  the  bridge, 
some  great  beast  that  leapt  into  the  jungle 
as  the  cart  approached  ;  and  then  the  mail 
of  the  Rani  (Empress)  of  Hindoostan  was 
stayed  by  a  graceless  pariah  dog  that 
guarded  this  jungle  wayfarer,  and,  fright 
ening  my  horses,  denied  me  passage  over 
the  bridge.  I  could  not  have  brought  in 
the  mail  to-night  had  it  not  been  for  this 
Rustum,  who  beat  the  dog  and  restrained 
him.  Is  it  not  so,  O  Terror  of  Nya- 
gong?" 

But  the  little  man  was  fast  asleep  by  this 
24 


Hasteen 

time,  and  Ram  Deen,  by  permission  of 
Hasteen,  who  followed  close  at  his  heels, 
carried  the  small  chamar  to  his  own  hut 
and  put  him  into  his  own  bed  ;  "for  that 
he  was  of  the  age,"  he  said  to  himself,  "of 
Buldeo,  my  son,  who  was  lost  to  me  three 
years  ago, — and  he  without  a  mother." 


CHAPTER   III 

The  Hunting  of  Cheeta  Dutt 

A  FEW  nights  after  the  finding  in  the 
jungle  of  Biroo,  the  little  chamar 
(tanner),  by  Ram  Been,  who  drove  the 
mail-cart  from  Lai  Kooah,  the  notables  of 
Kaladoongie  were  gathered  round  a  fire  in 
front  of  the  police-station.  The  Thanadar 
(chief  of  police),  as  befitted  his  rank  and 
dignity,  sat  cross-legged  on  his  charpoi, 
smoking  gravely,  whilst  the  rest  of  the 
company  squatted  on  their  heels,  after  the 
manner  of  the  natives  of  India,  passing  a 
hookah  round  the  circle  and  discussing  in 
a  desultory  fashion  the  current  events  of 
that  section  of  the  Terai. 

A  faint  bugle-note  far  off"  in  the  jungle 
announced  the  approach  of  the  mail-cart, 
and  soon  after  the  distant  rumble  of  the 
wheels  was  heard  as  Ram  Deen  drove  over 
the  Bore  bridge.  When  he  was  within  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  village  he  blew  a 
26 


The  Hunting  of  Cheeta  Dutt 

brave  blast,  and  presently  dashed  up  at  full 
speed  into  the  firelight,  Biroo  standing  be 
tween  his  knees,  and  a  huge  pariah  dog 
bounding  along  by  the  side  of  the  cart. 
Soon  after  Ram  Been,  followed  by  Biroo 
and  the  big  dog,  joined  the  circle  round 
the  fire. 

"Salaam,  aleikoom  !"  said  Biroo,  gravely 
saluting  the  Thanadar,  and  including  the 
rest  of  those  assembled  in  his  sweeping 
salute. 

"Aleikoom,  salaam!"  returned  the 
Thanadar.  "  So  thou  hast  brought  in  the 
Queen's  mail  safely,  my  Rustum  ?" 

"Hasteen  and  I,"  began  the  little  fel 
low,  putting  a  caressing  hand  on  the  head 
of  the  great  dog,  who  lay  beside  him  wink 
ing  at  the  fire,  "  Hasteen  and  I  fear 
nought  that  moveth  in  the  jungle,  save 
only  the  men  of  Nyagong  ; — and  then,  too, 
there  was  Ram  Been." 

This  was  said  so  seriously  that  the  men 
sitting  round  the  fire  laughed  at  the  little 
man's  gravity ;  and  Ram  Been  smiled  as 
he  spread  an  armful  of  dry  grass  on  the 
ground,  into  which  he  tucked  the  little  fel- 
27 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

low,  and  wrapped  him  up  in  his  blanket. 
Hasteen  settled  himself  beside  Biroo,  and 
they  soon  became  oblivious  of  the  circle 
round  the  fire. 

"  How  likest  thou  the  little  jungle  waif, 
Ram  Been?"  inquired  the  Thanadar. 

"Thanadar  ji,  he  is  to  me  as  mine  own 
son,  Buldeo,  come  back  to  life ;  and  he 
knoweth  not  fear.  As  we  drove  through 
the  jungle  yesterday  and  to-night  he  turned 
his  face  towards  Nyagong  and  cursed  that 
village,  and  sware  that  he  would  burn  it  to 
the  ground  when  he  had  a  beard  ;  and  'tis 
like  as  not  that  he  will  do  so  when  he  is  a 
man  grown." 

"Durga  aid  him  in  his  attempt!"  said  fat 
Gunga  Ram,  the  sweetmeat  vendor ;  "  that 
village  hath  always  bred  rogues  and  bud- 
mashes,  before  and  since  Cheeta  Dutt,  the 
son  of  the  last  Jemadar  (head  man  of  the 
village),  committed  a  deed  of  hell  in  the 
jungle  thereby." 

The  silence  of  those  who  sat  round  the 
fire  was  a  mute  request  to  Gunga  Ram  to 
tell  the  story  thus  prefaced. 

"Brothers,"  he  began,  "'twas  in  the 
28 


The  Hunting  of  Cheeta  Dutt 

second  year  after  the  great  mutiny  that 
a  young  Englishman  came  into  the  Terai 
to  look  after  the  sal  trees,  which  always 
seemed  a  foolishness  to  me  till  I  learned 
that  sal  timber  is  good  for  the  building  of 
the  ships  that  cross  the  Black  Water. 

"And  he  had  but  little  to  do,  save  to 
shoot  black  partridge  and  spotted  deer  and 
watch  the  Padhani  women  crossing  the  ford 
in  front  of  his  camp  ;  that  was  the  evil 
of  it. 

"  In  those  days  I  was  but  a  span  round 
the  waist,  and  the  best  shikari  (hunter)  and 
tracker  in  these  parts  ;  and  Bonner  Sahib 
— that  was  his  name — hired  me  to  show 
him  where  game  was  to  be  found.  But  he 
soon  tired  of  shikar  (sport),  and  fell  to 
playing  the  songs  of  the  Padhani  women 
on  his  cithar,  the  like  of  which  I  never 
heard  before. 

"  One  day,  after  he  had  eaten  his  morn 
ing  meal  and  swam  in  the  deep  pool  above 
the  ford  of  the  Bore  Nuddee,  he  lay  on 
the  grass  by  the  stream  smoking,  whilst  I 
cleaned  his  guns  by  the  side  of  his  tent. 
Presently,  when  I  looked  up,  the  sahib  was 
29 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

gazing  from  under  his  hand  at  certain  way 
farers  who  came  down  the  slope  on  the 
other  side  of  the  stream  towards  the  ford  ; 
and  on  his  finger  there  glittered  a  stone 
that  took  mine  eye  even  at  that  distance. 
In  front  there  rode  on  a  hill-pony,  loaded 
with  household  goods,  Cheeta  Dutt,  the 
son  of  the  Jemadar  of  Nyagong,  and  he 
wore  the  garments  of  a  man  who  taketh 
his  wife  home  for  the  consummation  of  his 
marriage.  Behind  him  walked  Naringi, 
his  wife,  the  daughter  of  the  Jemadar  of 
Huldwani.  She  was  well  named  '  Orange 
Blossom  ; '  and  though  I  live  to  a  thousand 
years,  yet  shall  I  never  see  the  like  of  her 
as  she  walked  behind  Cheeta  Dutt  with  a 
small  bundle  on  her  head  and  lifted  her 
sari  as  she  took  the  ford  with  her  bared 
limbs. 

' '  Brothers,  she  was  but  sixteen  years  in 
age,  and  in  the  budding  of  her  beauty ; 
and  it  seemed  as  though  the  morning  shed 
all  its  joys  about  her  feet.  What  wonder, 
then,  that  even  a  young  Faringi  (English 
man)  should  look  upon  her  with  admira 
tion? 

30 


The  Hunting  of  Cheeta  Dutt 

"  When  she  was  half-way  across  the  ford 
her  foot  slipped,  and  the  bundle  she  bore 
fell  into  the  stream.  Wullahy,  but  these 
Faringis  be  fools  !  Eyes  may  look,  and 
thoughts  may  fall  about  the  face  of  a  fair 
woman,  though  she  be  another  man's  wife, 
but  only  a  Faringi  would  do  what  Bonner 
Sahib  did.  Kali  Mai  afflict  the  race  ! 
Women  were  made  but  to  carry  burdens 
and  bear  children.  Nowhere  can  it  be 
shown — not  even  in  the  Shastras,  wherein 
I,  Gunga  Ram,  have  read — that  a  man 
should  demean  himself  to  serve  a  woman  ; 
but  Bonner  Sahib  leapt  into  the  stream 
and  recovered  the  young  woman's  bundle. 
Worse  than  that,  as  she  stood  beside  her 
husband's  horse,  wringing  the  water  out  of 
the  hem  of  her  garment,  he  put  her  bundle 
in  her  hand,  and  Cheeta  Dutt  scowled  at 
him. 

" '  Protector  of  the  Poor,'  said  I  to  the 
sahib,  as  I  dried  his  feet  and  changed  his 
shoes,  'thou  hast  not  done  well.' 

"  '  Wherefore  ?'  he  replied,  sending  the 
smoke  of  his  cheroot  skywards. 

'"  Because    Cheeta    Dutt    (well    is    he 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

named  Hunting  Leopard)  may  repay  thee 
hereafter  in  his  own  way  for  thy  service  to 
his  wife  this  day.  Belike,  he  may  render 
her  nakti  (noseless),  and  so  send  her  back 
to  her  father's  house.  But  the  sahib  is  a 
great  lord,  and  a  nakti  Padhani  woman 
more  or  less  concerneth  him  not,  for  they 
be  bought  and  sold  like  cattle,  and  the 
sahib  hath  the  price  of  many  such  on  his 
little  finger. — But  I  speak  like  a  fool,  sahib, 
for  I  am  a  poor  man  and  know  nothing, 
save  how  to  serve  thee.' 

"But  he  only  laughed  and  stroked  the 
yellow  beard  on  his  upper  lip. 

"A  moon  thereafter  our  camp  was 
pitched  near  Nyagong.  As  ye  know,  the 
Terai  thereby  is  full  of  shikar,  and  I 
showed  Bonner  Sahib  where  to  find  black 
partridge.  One  day,  as  we  set  our  faces 
campwards, — I  following  the  sahib  with  his 
spare  gun  and  the  morning's  kill, — the 
voice  of  a  young  woman  singing  a  Padhani 
song  suddenly  rose  from  a  thicket  near  by, 
and  the  jungle  became  silent  to  listen  to 
her.  Bonner  Sahib  parted  the  tall  grass 
with  his  hands,  and  I,  looking  over  his 
32 


The  Hunting  of  Cheeta  Dutt 

shoulder,  beheld  Naringi,  the  wife  of 
Cheeta  Dutt,  seated  on  a  fallen  tree  trunk 
in  an  open  glade,  tending  a  flock  of  goats. 
As  she  sang  she  strung  together  flaming 
cotton-wood  flowers,  whereof  she  had 
placed  one  behind  each  ear. 

"When  she  had  finished  her  song  the 
sahib  took  it  up,  stepping  at  the  same  time 
into  the  clearing ;  and  Naringi  fled  like  a 
roe  hunted  by  wolves. 

"  *  The  shikar  is  shy,  Gunga  Ram/  said 
the  sahib. 

" '  Tis  dangerous  hunting,  Protector  of 
the  Poor,'  I  replied.  But  the  sahib  only 
laughed  and  lit  a  cheroot. 

"And  thereafter  he  sought  the  black 
partridge  unattended  by  me,  for  he  set  me 
morning  tasks  to  fulfil  within  the  camp. 
But,  brothers,  he  brought  not  so  much  as  a 
jungle-fowl  home  for  more  than  a  week,  and 
I  was  fain  to  know  what  the  sahib  hunted. 

"So  I  followed  him  unperceived  one 
morning,  and  he  went  straightway  to  the 
clearing  wherein  we  had  seen  Naringi  with 
the  goats.  When  I  looked  through  the 
grass,  behold  !  I  saw  Bonner  Sahib  seated 
3  33 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

on  the  fallen  tree  trunk,  wearing  a  necklace 
of  red  flowers,  and  Naringi  sat  on  his  knee 
with  an  arm  round  his  neck  !  Toba,  toba  ! 
what  fools  these  Faringis  be,  who  know  not 
that  the  birds  of  the  air  carry  messages 
when  a  sahib  stoops  to  a  woman  of  our 
people." 

"The  jungle  hath  many  eyes,"  said  the 
Thanadar,  sententiously. 

After  Gunga  Ram  had  refreshed  himself 
with  the  circling  hookah,  he  went  on  :  "As 
I  looked  and  listened  there  was  a  rustling 
in  the  grass  on  the  other  side  of  the  clear 
ing,  and  the  sahib's  dog  dashed  into  the 
jungle  in  pursuit  of  something.  The  next 
moment  it  yelped  as  a  dog  that  is  sorely 
stricken,  but  the  sahib,  who  was  toying 
with  Naringi,  heard  nothing. 

"Then  Naringi,  stroking  the  sahib's 
golden  beard,  said,  'My  Lord,  Cheeta  Dutt 
beat  me  last  night  because  I  spake  thy 
name  in  my  sleep.  Look,'  and  she  lifted 
the  hair  from  her  forehead,  whereon  was  a 
bruise  ;  and  as  she  turned  her  face  to  the 
sahib  I  saw  that  she  had  been  weeping,  for 
her  eyelids  were  swelled. 
34 


The  Hunting  of  Cheeta  Dutt 

"  '  He  is  swine-born  !'  said  the  sahib  ;  and 
as  he  spake  his  face  flushed  like  the  morn 
ing  sky.  Then  he  folded  her  in  his  arms 
and  saluted  her  mouth  after  the  manner  of 
Faringis  ;  and  when  she  was  comforted  he 
said,  'Naringi,  my  Blossom,  thy  husband 
is  a  dog  !  To-night  will  I  take  thee  hence 
and  make  thee  envied  of  the  mem-sahibs 
of  Naini  Tal.  Wilt  thou  trust  thyself 
with  me?' 

"  For  answer  she  threw  herself  before 
him  and  clasped  his  feet,  but  the  sahib 
raised  her  up,  saying,  'Beloved,  I  will  come 
for  thee  to-night  on  the  stroke  of  the  tenth 
hour  by  the  village  bell.  Gunga  Ram — my 
shikari — and  I  will  wait  for  thee  with  a 
covered  byli  (cart)  at  the  foot  of  that  tall 
sesame  tree  thou  seest  yonder  on  the  open 
plain.  And  for  pledge  that  I  shall  be  here, 
see,  I  set  on  thy  finger  this  ring,  which  all 
the  villages  in  the  Kumaon  Terai  could  not 
buy ;  and  if  I  fail  to  come  my  punishment 
is  in  thy  hands.  It  is  a  thousand  years  till 
I  see  thee  again,  little  one.'  Then  he 
folded  her  in  his  arms  once  more  and  set 
his  face  homewards,  shouting  to  her  from 
35 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

the  end  of  the  glade,  '  Fail  me  not,  my  Wild 
Rose  !'  For  answer,  she  swept  the  ground 
with  her  salaams. 

"Hastening  campwards  by  a  path  that 
skirted  the  other  side  of  the  glade,  I  came 
across  the  sahib's  dog.  It  was  shorn  in 
twain  by  the  stroke  of  a  khookri,  and  I 
knew  that  Cheeta  Dutt,  The  Leopard,  was 
a-hunting. 

"  'What  shikar?'  asked  I  of  Bonner Sahib 
when  he  returned  to  his  tent. 

"'Thou  art  a  liar,  Gunga  Ram.  The 
jungle  hereabout  is  barren  of  game,  and  it 
is  in  my  mind  to  send  thee  with  a  note  to 
the  Thanadar  of  Kaladoongie  commending 
the  soles  of  thy  feet  to  the  bamboo  staff  of 
one  of  his  men  ;'  and,  laughing,  he  threw 
himself  into  a  long  chair. 

"'I  am  sorry  for  thee,  sahib,'  I  said  in 
reply,  '  for  not  only  art  thou  empty  handed 
this  day,  but  thou  hast  lost  the  great  stone 
that  shone  on  thy  finger  when  thou  wentest 
forth  this  morning.  Toba,  toba  !' 

" '  'Tis  in  my  pocket,  O  Chattering 
Jay.' 

"'  Perchance  the  sahib  shot  his  dog  this 
36 


The  Hunting  of  Cheeta  Dutt 

morning,  seeing  that  the  game  was  scarce?' 
I  said. 

"'Hath  he  not  returned,  Gunga  Ram?' 

"'Ere  I  answer  thee,  sahib,  'twere  well 
to  drink  some  brandy-pani ;'  and  I  mixed 
the  liquor  as  he  had  taught  me. 

"  '  It  is  well,  Provider  of  the  Poor,'  I 
went  on,  '  it  is  well  to  be  young  and  well 
favored,  and  the  special  care  of  thy  gods 
who  have  bestowed  on  thee  wealth  and 
a  moonstone  that  all  the  villages  in  the 
Kumaon  Terai  could  not  purchase,' — 
hereat  the  sahib  looked  at  me  out  of  the 
corner  of  his  eye, — '  but  it  is  not  well  to 
look  for  partridges  where  great  beasts  hunt. 
Thy  dog  was  slain  in  the  jungle  this  morn 
ing  by  a  leopard.  He  lieth  outside  the 
tent,  and  'twere  well  the  sahib  should  see 
what  a  leopard  can  do.' 

"Following  him  out  of  the  tent,  I  un 
covered  the  dead  dog.  The  sahib  clutched 
at  his  throat  and  would  have  fallen,  so  I 
put  my  arm  round  him  and  laid  him  on  his 
bed. 

"'This    is   the   work    of   Cheeta    Dutt, 
sahib.     Said  I  not  that  perchance  he  would 
37 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

hunt  some  one  hereafter  for  thy  service  to 
his  wife  at  the  ford  last  month  ?' 

"Rising  from  the  bed,  the  sahib  drank 
another  draught  of  the  strong  waters. 
'  Cheeta  Dutt's  back  shall  smart  for  this,' 
he  said. 

"  *  And  then,  sahib,  he  will  slay  his  wife 
because  of  thy  ring  in  the  pocket  of  her 
bodice/ 

"  '  Budmash,  thou  hast  been  playing  the 
spy!'  and  turning  upon  me  like  a  wild 
boar,  his  face  aflame,  he  caught  me  by  the 
beard. 

"  'Sahib,'  I  said,  'I  am  but  a  poor  man, 
and  thou  of  consequence  in  the  Terai,  but, 
man  to  man,  thou  durst  not  lay  thy  hand 
on  my  beard  in  the  jungle  and  away  from 
thy  camp.  I  fear  not  to  tell  thee,  sahib, 
that  I  did,  indeed,  watch  thee  this  morning ; 
but  the  jungle  is  full  of  eyes,  not  the  least 
keen  being  those  of  Cheeta  Dutt,  who 
slew  thy  dog  this  morning,  and  who  will 
slay  the  woman  thou  lovest,  or  disfeature 
her,  as  is  his  right' 

" '  Gunga  Ram,  thou  art  a  man,  and  I 
ask  forgiveness  of  thee  for  blackening  thy 
38 


The  Hunting  of  Cheeta  Dutt 

face,  but  I  am  moved  from  myself  by  great 
fear  for  what  may  befall  the  woman.  Tell 
me  what  is  to  be  done,  for  thou  knowest 
the  ways  of  these  jungle  folks  better  than 
I ;'  and  the  sahib  walked  the  floor  as  one 
distraught. 

"  '  Will  one  thousand — will  ten  thousand 
rupees  save  the  young  woman?'  asked  the 
sahib. 

" '  The  honor  of  a  Brahmin  is  not  to  be 
appraised  in  money,  sahib/  I  replied. 

"'Will  he  fight,  Gunga  Ram,  as  a 
Faringi  would  under  like  circumstances  ?' 

"  '  He  will  fight,  assuredly,  sahib  ;  but  he 
will  fight  after  the  manner  of  his  kind,  and 
in  the  dark.' 

"  Much  talk  had  we  ;  but  we  could  only 
hope  that  Cheeta  Dutt  may  not  have  wit 
nessed  the  meeting  that  morning." 

Gunga  Ram  stopped  to  "drink  tobacco" 
once  more,  whilst  the  little  bullock  driver, 
who  would  start  in  the  morning  with  freight 
for  Moradabad,  said,  "That  was  a  poor 
hope,  O  Seller  of  Gates,  for  the  jungle  hath 
ears  and  tongues  as  well  as  eyes." 

"Therefore,  byl-wan,"  rejoined  Gunga 
39 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

Ram,  "  I  saw  to  it  that  my  gun  was 
properly  loaded  as  we  went  in  the  byli  that 
night  to  the  place  of  meeting. 

"The  moon  was  almost  in  mid-heaven, 
in  an  unclouded  sky,  when  we  reached  the 
sesame  tree,  and  it  was  a  time  for  the  deeds 
of  Kama,  but  Kali  Mai  was  abroad  in  the 
jungle  that  night. 

"The  sound  of  the  distant  village  bell 
striking  the  hour  of  ten  had  scarcely  died 
away  when  there  rose  from  the  glade  the 
voice  of  a  young  woman  singing  a  Padhani 
song. 

"  *  Heart  of  my  Heart, — she  cometh  !' 
said  the  sahib.  'Oh,  Gunga  Ram,  she  is 
safe  P  and  he  lifted  up  his  voice,  singing 
the  refrain  of  her  song. 

"  He  had  scarcely  ceased  by  a  breath, 
when  he  was  answered  by  the  scream  of  a 
woman  who  looks  upon  Terror  and  Pain 
hunting  together. 

"Like  an  arrow  from  a  bow  he  sped 
across  the  plain  and  entered  the  glade,  I 
following  with  what  haste  I  could.  As  I 
set  foot  therein  there  arose  a  yell  the  like 
of  which  was  never  made  by  jungle  beast  ; 
40 


The  Hunting  of  Cheeta  Dutt 

and,  brothers,  my  heart  stood  still  with 
fear.  I  could  hear  the  sahib  crashing 
through  the  underbrush,  and  I  followed, 
but  the  glade  was  in  deep  darkness  by  rea 
son  of  the  thick  foliage  of  the  trees  over 
head  that  stayed  the  moonlight,  and  my 
pace  was  slow. 

"  Presently,  I  saw  the  sahib  in  the  open 
space  where  was  the  fallen  tree  trunk  that 
had  served  him  for  a  seat  that  morning. 
He  stopped  suddenly  within  a  few  paces 
of  the  log,  like  a  stricken  man.  Falling 
on  his  knees  and  clasping  his  hands  to 
gether,  he  bowed  his  head  thereon  ;  and  in 
that  instant  a  dark  figure  leaped  upon  the 
sahib  from  behind  a  tree,  and  I  saw  the 
flash  of  a  khookri  in  the  moonlight. 

"  I  raised  my  gun  and  fired  as  I  ran,  but 
I  was  too  late. 

"  When  I  came  up  to  the  sahib  his  head 
lay  two  paces  from  his  body. 

"On  the  fallen  tree  trunk,  with  the 
sahib's  moonstone  glittering  on  its  fore 
finger,  was  the  small  hand  of  a  woman 
that  had  been  lopped  off  above  the  wrist, 
and  which  still  dripped  blood." 
41 


CHAPTER   IV 

The  Spoiling  of  Nyagong 

GOOR  DUTT,  the  little  bullock  driver, 
who  was  on  his  way  to  Moradabad 
with  the  effects  of  one  of  the  clerks  of  the 
Lieutenant-Governor's  office,  reached  Lai 
Kooah  long  after  sunset  It  was  his  inten 
tion  to  travel  through  the  night,  but  he 
could  not  resist  the  temptation  of  joining 
the  circle  round  the  fire  in  front  of  the 
bunnia's  hut  whilst  his  bullocks  ate  their 
meal  of  chaff  and  chopped  hay. 

The  bunnia  had  given  up  his  charpoi  to 
Ram  Deen,  who  drove  the  mail-cart  to 
Kaladoongie,  and  who  was  a  man  swift  of 
anger  and  dangerous  to  cross,  but  not 
altogether  hard.  Had  he  not,  but  three 
days  since,  found  and  adopted  Biroo,  the 
little  chamar  (tanner)  waif,  who  lay  asleep 
by  the  fire  with  a  huge  pariah  dog  stretched 
beside  him  ? 

"  Salaam,  coach-wan  ji,"  said  Goor  Dutt, 
42 


The  Spoiling  of  Nyagong 

saluting  Ram  Been,  "  I  have  news  for  thee  : 
the  Commissioner  Sahib  hath  sent  word 
to  the  Thanadar  of  Kaladoongie  that  he 
should  make  inquiry  concerning  the  rind 
ing  of  Biroo's  father  in  the  well  at  Nya 
gong." 

"  Tis  well,  Thwacker  of  Bullocks.  And 
when  goeth  the  Thanadar  thither?"  in 
quired  Ram  Deen. 

"  Belike  he  is  there  now." 

"  Oh,  that  a  man  were  here  to  take  the 
mail  to  Kaladoongie  to-night !"  exclaimed 
Ram  Deen. 

"The  man  is  here,"  piped  the  little 
carrier,  "if  some  one  will  tend  my  cattle 
till  I  return." 

"  That  will  I,"  said  the  bunnia,  with  the 
stress  of  Ram  Deen's  eyes  on  him. 

When  the  mail-cart  drove  up  Ram  Deen 
took  the  reins,  with  Biroo,  wrapped  in  a 
blanket,  between  his  knees,  whilst  Goor 
Dutt  climbed  to  the  back  seat.  The  big 
dog,  Hasteen,  ran  beside  the  mail-cart  and 
woke  the  jungle  echoes  with  his  bark. 
******** 

******** 
43 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

"  How  didst  thou  fare  last  night,  coach- 
wan  ji?"  asked  the  bunnia,  next  evening. 

"As  should  innocence  wronged,  and 
avenging  strength." 

When  none  of  those  sitting  round  the 
fire  spoke,  Ram  Deen  went  on  :  "  As  we 
came  nigh  to  the  path  leading  to  Nyagong, 
Biroo  turned  his  face  thereto  and  spat 
vehemently ;  and  I  said,  '  Son  of  mine, 
canst  thou  lead  me  to  Nyagong?'  and  he 
replied,  '  Of  a  surety  ;  the  path  is  here.' 

"  Thereat  we  got  down  from  the  cart — 
Biroo  and  I ;  and  I  bore  the  bugle  hanging 
at  my  side  and  a  stout  bamboo  club  in  my 
hand.  As  we  picked  our  way  along  the 
jungle  path,  Hasteen  ran  beside  us,  growl 
ing  ;  and  when  the  moon  gave  light  I  saw 
the  crest  on  his  back  bristling,  and  his 
teeth  gleamed  through  his  lips. 

"When  we  reached  Nyagong  I  put  an 
armful  of  grass  on  the  fire  that  was  still 
smouldering  in  front  of  the  Jemadar's 
house,  and,  as  the  flame  leaped  up,  I  blew 
upon  my  bugle.  Straightway  the  village 
watchman,  who  had  been  sleeping  in  his 
hut,  after  the  manner  of  his  kind,  came 

44 


The  Spoiling  of  Nyagong 

running  forth  bravely ;  but  when  he  saw 
who  it  was  that  stood  by  the  fire  he  sa 
laamed,  and  whined,  saying,  '  Great  pity 
'tis  that  Ram  Deen,  Lord  of  Leopards, 
should  be  put  to  the  trouble — and  at  this 
unseasonable  hour ! — to  return  to  our  vil 
lage  this  small  villain  and  budmash,  who  is 
worse  than  the  evil  eye.' 

"  For  answer,  I  felled  him  to  the  ground, 
and  Hasteen  stood  over  him.  So  he  dared 
not  move. 

"Then  came  the  Jemadar  and  the  men 
of  the  village  and  stood  round  us  ;  and  the 
former  said,  *  Wah !  Ram  Deen,  coach- 
wan,  is  it  well  to  disturb  peaceful  folk  at 
night  and  rouse  them  from  their  sleep? 
What  wouldst  thou  with  us  ?' 

"  '  Justice  to  this  little  one,  whose  father 
and  mother  ye  and  your  people  have  slain,' 
I  answered. 

"'And  what  of  my  son,  found  dead, 
and  with  teeth-marks  about  his  throat?' 
he  asked. 

"'Jemadar  Sahib/  I  replied,  <  Kali  Mai 
gave  thy  son,  her  follower,  fitting  end.    As 
he  lived,  so  he  died.     'Tis  well.' 
45 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

"  '  Dog  !'  he  exclaimed  ;  '  darest  thou  to 
speak  thus  to  me  in  front  of  mine  own 
people  ?'  And  he  ran  upon  me. 

"So  I  took  him  by  the  beard  and  laid 
him  at  my  feet ;  and  the  men  of  Nyagong 
feared  to  help  the  Jemadar,  for  Hasteen 
growled  fiercely  over  him. 

"  '  Fetch  the  bunnia,'  I  demanded ;  '  and 
lose  no  time,  O  Swine  of  the  Terai,  or  I 
give  your  Jemadar  to  the  dog.' 

"They  brought  him  trembling  before 
me,  and  he  folded  his  hands  and  bowed 
his  head  in  the  dust  at  my  feet,  crying, 
*  Ram  dhwy !  ram  dhwy !  the  great  and 
strong  are  ever  merciful.  What  wouldst 
thou  with  me,  coach-wan  ji  ?' 

"  '  The  bhalee  of  raw  sugar,'  I  answered, 
'from  which  this  man-child's  mother  got 
her  death.' 

"'She  died  of  Terai  fever,  Most  Wor 
shipful,  as  the  old  woman  who  was  with 
her  will  tell  thee.' 

"  '  Nevertheless,  Biroo  and  I  will  go  to 
thy  shop  with  thee,  in  the  matter  of  that 
sugar,  whilst  the  dog  seeth  to  the  Jemadar. 

Proceed.' 

46 


The  Spoiling  of  Nyagong 

"  '  But,  Coach- wan  Bahadoor,'  said  the 
Jemadar,  'thou  wilt  not  leave  me  to  be 
devoured  by  this  beast  ?' 

"  '  Lie  very  still,  Jemadar  Sahib,  very 
still.  The  dog  is  a  good  dog,  and  was 
never  known  to  harm  an  honest  man.  But 
let  no  one  come  to  thine  aid,  lest  there  be 
nothing  of  thee  left  to  take  to  the  burning 
ghat' 

"'Go  away,  brothers,'  wailed  the  Jema 
dar  to  his  people ;  '  go  away,  lest  evil 
befall  me.' 

"But  I  said,  'Nay,  not  so.  Stay  till  I 
return,  O  Village  Thugs,  for  I  would  speak 
with  ye.' 

"At  the  bunnia's  hut  Biroo  pointed  out 
the  bhalee  from  which  he  had  received  the 
portion  of  raw  sugar  whereof  his  mother 
had  eaten  ;  but  the  bunnia  denied,  saying 
that  he  had  already  sold  all  that  remained 
of  that  bhalee.  So  I  broke  off  a  piece  of 
it  and  gave  it  to  the  bunnia,  saying,  '  Eat !' 
Whereat  he  clasped  my  knees,  begging  for 
mercy,  and  I  knew  Biroo  had  not  erred. 

"  '  Swine-born  !'  said  I,  '  set  panniers  on 
thy  ass.'  And  when  the  ass  was  brought 
47 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

to  the  door  of  the  hut  I  made  the  bunnia 
load  it  with  such  produce  as  he  had,  till  it 
could  scarce  stand. 

"  '  I  am  fain  to  borrow  fifty  rupees  of 
thee,  bunnia  ji,  on  behalf  of  this  mother 
less  child/  I  said. 

"  Whereon  he  wailed,  saying,  '  Ram 
Deen,  Compeller  of  Elephants,  there  is  not 
so  much  money  in  all  the  village  stalls  of 
the  Terai.  What  I  have  I  will  give  thee  ;' 
and  he  laid  one  rupee  and  nine  annas  in 
my  palm  and  a  handful  of  cowries. 

"  '  He  lieth,  my  father,'  said  little  Biroo, 
drawing  forth  a  cocoa-nut  shell  from  be 
neath  the  bunnia's  seat, — and  it  was  full 
of  silver  ! 

"  'Bap  re  bap  !'  moaned  the  trader,  ''tis 
all  I  have  against  mine  old  age  ;  and  the 
men  of  Nyagong  despoil  me ;  and  my 
milch  cow  died  last  week.  Aho  !  aho  !' 

"  '  It  is  a  very  little  child,  bunnia  ji ;  and 
consider  he  hath  nor  father  nor  mother. 
God  will  repay  thee  for  thy  kind  loan  to 
the  orphan,'  and  I  tied  the  money  in  the 
corner  of  my  waistband. 

"  'But,  Ram  Deen,  Sun  of  Justice, 'whined 
48 


The  Spoiling  of  Nyagong 

the  bunnia,  'there  be  one  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  rupees,  some  of  it  in  gold 
mohurs,  in  thy  waistband.  Take  fifty,  and 
return  the  rest.' 

"'  Thank  Nana  Debi,  Bunnia  Sahib,'  I 
rejoined,  '  for  having  put  it  in  thy  power 
to  do  so  much  more  for  the  fatherless  than 
thou  didst  first  intend.  It  will  comfort 
thee  in  thy  old  age  to  think  thereon.' 

" '  But  this  is  robbery,'  he  said,  des 
perately,  '  for  which  I  will  have  thee  cast 
in  the  great  prison  at  Bareilly.' 

" '  There  be  gallows  there,  too,'  I  re 
torted,  'for  such  as  put  ground  glass  in 
gur,  Mea  ji.  Ho,  ho  !' 

"So  he  said  no  more,  but,  at  my  com 
mand,  put  panniers  on  another  ass,  which 
I  had  in  mind  to  have  loaded  by  the  men 
of  Nyagong. 

"  When  we  returned  to  the  fire,  the  dog 
Hasteen  and  the  Jemadar  were  as  we  had 
left  them  ;  and  the  Jemadar's  teeth  shook 
in  his  head  with  fear  and  cold.  So  I  called 
Hasteen  to  me,  and  when  the  Jemadar  had 
risen  from  the  ground  and  put  his  turban 
on,  I  spake  : 

4  49 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

"  *  O  Jemadar,  and  ye,  O  men  of  Nyagong, 
I  would  have  ye  witness  that  I  brought  this 
bhalee  of  sugar  from  the  bunnia's  stall.  Is 
it  not  so,  O  great  mahajun  (banker)?' 

"  And  the  bunnia  assented.  So  I  placed 
the  great  lump  of  raw  sugar  in  a  bag  which 
I  had  brought  from  the  bunnia's  shop. 
Then,  at  my  bidding  and  in  the  presence 
of  his  people,  the  Jemadar  sealed  the  bag 
with  his  seal,  which  was  well  known  to  the 
Thanadar  of  Kaladoongie. 

"Then  I  spake  thus  to  those  assembled 
there  :  'Jemadar  Sahib,  and  men  of  Nya 
gong,  ye  have  brought  shame  on  the  Ku- 
maon  Terai,  and,  in  the  eyes  of  all  men, 
ye  have  blackened  the  faces  of  those  who 
dwell  in  this  paradise  of  God.  This  child 
that  ye  see  here — and  he  is  a  very  little 
child  and  hath  nor  father  nor  mother — came 
amongst  ye  but  a  moon  since,  and  ye  slew 
those  who  fed  and  cared  for  him.  And 
him — his  milk-teeth  still  in  his  mouth — ye 
would  have  burnt  to  death  in  his  sleep  had 
Nana  Debi  and  this  dog  slept,  too.  It 
were  a  good  deed  done  to  burn  your  huts 
about  your  ears,  and  give  your  fields  to 
5° 


The  Spoiling  of  Nyagong 

the  wild  boar  and  to  the  Thanadar  of 
Kaladoongie,  who  is  my  friend  and  the 
friend  of  this  little  one,  and  who  would 
say  that  a  jungle  fire  had  swept  your 
village  away ;  but  I  am  more  merciful 
than  ye.  Inasmuch,  then,  as  ye  took  the 
bread  from  this  little  one's  mouth,  and  slew 
his  people,  it  is  but  right  that  ye  should 
feed  him,  and  be  his  father  and  his  mother. 
The  bunnia  hath  already  made  some  small 
reparation  for  the  sudden  taking  off  of  the 
little  one's  mother.  What  will  ye  do  for 
him  whose  hut  ye  burnt?  Or  would  ye 
that  the  Thanadar  of  Kaladoongie  should 
ask,  or  the  Commissioner  Sahib,  he  who 
can  put  ropes  round  the  necks  of  mur 
derers,  how  it  was  that  the  corpse  of  this 
child's  father  had  its  hands  tied  behind  its 
back  and  a  stone  fastened  to  its  feet  ?' 

"Then  the  Jemadar,  clasping  suppliant 
hands,  whined,  saying,  '  Ram  Been,  Rustum 
of  the  Terai,  gentle  as  thou  art  brave  and 
strong  !  the  child's  mother  died  of  Terai 
fever,  as  thou  knowest ;  and  his  worthy 
father,  the  chamar,  leaned  too  far  over  the 
edge  of  the  well  in  drawing  up  his  lotah, 
51 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

and  so  fell  in.  Why  speak  to  us,  then,  of 
slaying  ?  We  be  sorry  for  the  little  chamar, 
Brahmins  though  we  be,  and  we  would 
have  been  father  and  mother  to  him,  but 
he  ran  away,  and  the  village  mourned, 
thinking  he  had  fallen  a  prey  to  the  jackals. 
To  none  else  but  thee  would  we  give  up 
the  boon  of  rearing  him.  Brothers/  he 
went  on,  turning  to  those  about  him, 
'  naught  can  restore  a  child's  father  to  him, 
but  a  brass  lotah  with  sufficient  coin  therein, 
and  a  necklace  of  gold  and  plum-seeds, 
such  as  I  will  bestow  upon  him,  may  help 
him  in  time  of  need,  and,  mayhap,  resolve 
the  Thanadar  not  to  visit  our  village.  Eh, 
coach-wan  ji?  Brothers,  see  to  it  that 
our  much-loved  orphan  goeth  not  empty- 
handed  from  the  generous  village  of  Nya- 

g°ng-' 

"So  it  was  that  the  other  ass  groaned 
beneath  a  weight  of  silver  bangles  and 
toe-rings  still  warm  from  the  taking  off, 
blankets  and  hide-sewn  shoes,  sweetened 
tobacco  and  unbleached  cotton  cloth,  and 
many  a  purse  filled  with  two-anna  pieces. 

"And  when  the  ass's  knees  shook,  by 
52 


The  Spoiling  of  Nyagong 

reason  of  the  load  on  his  back,  I  said, 
1  Men  of  Nyagong,  perchance  the  Thana- 
dar  of  Kaladoongie  may  have  an  asthma 
to-morrow.' 

"And  one  said,  'Of  a  surety  he  hath 
scant  breath.  Ho,  ho  !' 

"  Then  I  set  Biroo  upon  the  second  ass ; 
and  when  we  had  reached  the  Bore  Nuddee 
I  blew  upon  the  bugle. 

"When  the  Thanadar  of  Kaladoongie 
came  out  to  meet  me  I  put  my  hand  on 
Biroo's  shoulder,  saying,  '  Much  care  await- 
eth  thee,  Thanadar  Sahib,  in  tending  this 
little  budmash,  whose  merchandise  this  is. 
Moreover,  he  is  a  mahajun  now,  and  hath 
much  money  to  lend.'  " 


53 


CHAPTER   V 

The  Woman  in  the  Carriage 

HEN  Ram  Deen's  bugle  was  heard 


w 


at  the  Bore  bridge,  the  munshi 
from  the  post-office  came  across  the  road 
and  joined  the  group  sitting  round  the  fire 
in  front  of  the  police-station,  at  which  only 
the  great  felt  free  to  warm  themselves. 

The  munshi  was  struggling  with  "the 
po-ets  of  the  In-gel-land,"  as  he  expressed 
it  in  Baboo-English,  and  did  not  often  take 
part  in  the  proceedings  round  the  Thana- 
dar's  fire  ;  but  that  night  he  took  his  place 
with  the  assurance  of  one  who  has  some 
thing  to  tell.  A  mem-sahib,  in  evident  dis 
tress,  with  a  very  young  baby  in  her  arms, 
and  unattended,  had  taken  special  passage 
to  Moradabad  on  the  mail-cart ;  and  Ram 
Deen,  the  driver,  would  therefore  have  to 
return  to  Lai  Kooah  that  night  without  any 
rest  Such  a  thing  had  never  happened 
before,  and  beards  wagged  freely  round  the 
54 


The  Woman  in  the  Carriage 

fire  in  all  sorts  of  surmisings.  For  once  in 
his  life,  the  munshi,  whom  Kaladoongie 
had  always  looked  upon  as  a  mere  rhyme- 
struck  fool,  held  the  public  eye,  and  moved 
largely  and  freely  among  his  fellows. 

Beauty  in  distress  appeals  even  to  the 
"heathen  in  his  blindness,"  and  the  munshi 
drove  round  to  the  dak-bungalow  to  receive 
and  translate  the  lady's  final  instructions  to 
Ram  Been.  Not  that  there  was  any  occasion 
for  his  services,  for  the  lady  with  the  fair 
hair  and  blue  eyes  used  excellent  Hindus 
tani  ;  her  soft  "d's"  and  "  t's"  showed  that 
she  had  been  born  in  India,  and  that  she 
had  spoken  Nagari  before  she  acquired 
English. 

She  was  waiting  on  the  veranda  with  her 
baby  in  her  arms  when  the  mail-cart  drove 
up  ;  and,  ignoring  the  fussy  little  munshi, 
from  whom  no  help  could  be  looked  for  in 
the  troubles  that  beset  her,  she  spoke  to 
Ram  Been,  who  soon  won  her  confidence, 
for  he  showed  himself  to  be  thoughtful  and 
a  man  of  resource. 

"The  mem-sahib  must  be  well  wrapped 
up  to-night,"  he  said,  "and  the  little  one 
55 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

too,  for  it  will  be  exceedingly  bitter  as  soon 
as  we  pass  through  the  timber  and  arrive  at 
the  tall  grass.  And  the  babe  seemeth  very 
young  from  its  cry." 

"  It  is  but  two  weeks  in  age,  coach-wan, 
and  we  are  well  wrapped  up  ;  but  make 
haste,  oh,  make  haste  !" 

When  Ram  Deen  had  lifted  her  on  to 
the  seat,  he  fastened  her  to  the  back  of  it 
with  his  waistband,  and  wrapped  her  feet 
up  in  his  own  blanket.  "  There  be  ruts 
and  stones  on  the  road,"  he  explained, 
"  and  the  mem-sahib  will  have  to  hold  the 
little  one  with  both  arms,  and  very  close  to 
her  to  keep  it  warm." 

By  the  time  they  had  reached  the  level 
plateau  beyond  the  Bore  Nuddee,  the 
horses,  at  her  urgent  and  repeated  request 
for  more  speed,  were  being  driven  as  fast 
as  Ram  Deen  dared  to  drive,  seeing  there 
were  ten  miles  to  be  covered  by  the  same 
team. 

As  they  proceeded,  the  lady  showed  her 

distress  by  an  occasional  deep  sigh ;   and 

once,  when  Ram  Deen  looked  at  her  face, 

dimly  illuminated  by  the  lamps  of  the  mail- 

56 


The  Woman  in  the  Carriage 

cart,  he  saw  the  gleam  of  a  tear  on  her 
eyelashes.  He  was  glad  when  she  spoke 
and  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  trying  to 
distract  her  mind. 

"Sawest  thou  any  travellers  on  the  road 
to-day,  coach-wan?"  asked  the  lady,  timidly. 

"Yea,  Most  Worshipful.  A  carriage,  with 
a  sahib  and  an  English  woman,  stopped  by 
the  well  at  Lai  Kooah  this  evening ;  and 
the  sahib  warmed  himself  at  the  bunnia's  fire 
and  bought  milk,  whilst  his  man-servant 
made  preparation  for  their  evening  meal." 

"What  manner  of  man  was  he,  coach- 
wan  ;  and  didst  thou  learn  his  name  ?" 

"The  servant  told  me  that  the  sahib's 
name  was  Barfield, — Captain  Barfield, — 
mem-sahib,  and  that  he  was  going  to 
Meerut  to  join  the  regiment  to  which  he 
belongs.  Moreover,  he  said  that  the  woman 
in  the  carriage  was  not  his  master's  wife — 
but,  toba,  toba !  what  am  I  saying  ?  This 
is  shameful  talk  for  the  mem-sahib  to  hear, 
and  I  ask  the  forgiveness  of  the  Provider  of 
the  Poor  for  my  stupidity." 

"Go  on,  go  on,  coach-wan,"  she  said, 
eagerly,  laying  a  hand  on  his  arm.  And  as 
57 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

he  talked,  she  fell  aweeping  bitterly,  and 
Ram  Been  knew  not  how  to  comfort  her, 
for  he  had  never  spoken  to  a  mem-sahib 
before.  So  he  blundered  into  speech 
again. 

"  What  manner  of  man,  Most  Worshipful, 
was  the  sahib  ?  As  he  stood  by  the  fire,  I 
saw  that  he  was  nearly  as  tall  as  I, — and  I 
am  a  span  higher  than  most  men  ;  the 
beard  on  his  upper  lip  was  very  fair,  and 
his  face  showed  red  in  the  firelight;  fur 
thermore,  he  smelled  of  strong  waters. 
He  stood  awhile,  unmindful  of  those  about 
him,  twitching  his  beard  and  digging  his 
nails  into  the  palms  of  his  hands  ;  and  he 
looked  as  a  man  who  hath  a  new  sorrow." 

"  Oh,  coach-wan  !  that  is  the  first  good 
word  I  have  heard  this  day.  It  shall  enrich 
thee  by  ten  rupees  ere  the  sun  rise." 

"  Presently,"  resumed  the  driver,  "  as  the 
sahib  stood  before  the  blaze,  the  woman  in 
the  carriage  began  to  sing,  and  it  was  as 
the  song  of  one  who  hath  smoked  opium 
or  bhang.  Then  the  sahib  stamped  his 
heel  on  the  ground,  and  with  an  oath — 
such  I  took  it  to  be,  for  it  sounded  terrible 
58 


The  Woman  in  the  Carriage 

— he  went  towards  the  carriage  ;  and  the 
woman,  opening  the  door  thereof,  put  forth 
her  head,  and  we  saw  that  her  hair  was 
unloosed  and  hung  about  her  shoulders. 

"She  fell  to  scolding  the  sahib,  who 
thrust  her  back  into  the  carriage,  so  that 
we  should  not  look  upon  her  disorder. 
Then  he  fastened  the  doors,  so  that  she 
could  not  open  them.  Whereon  she  fell  to 
screaming  and  beating  on  the  sides  of  the 
carriage  like  a  wild  beast  newly  caged. 

"So  the  sahib,  being  shamed,  gave 
orders,  and  his  horses,  which  were  already 
spent,  were  again  yoked  to  the  carriage  ; 
they  departed  slowly  into  the  darkness,  and 
we  could  hear  the  woman  scolding  long 
after  they  had  passed  out  of  sight" 

"  What  time  was  it  when  they  left  Lai 
Kooah,  coach-wan?" 

"About  the  seventh  hour,  and  now  some 
two  hours  ago,  mem-sahib." 

"Oh,  make  haste,  make  haste,  coach- 
wan  !  Twenty  rupees  to  thee  if  we  over 
take  them  ere  they  reach  Moradabad  !" 

"  Fear  not,  mem-sahib.  We  shall  come 
up  with  them  or  ever  they  get  to  the  next 
59 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

chowki,  where  fresh  horses  await  the  mail- 
cart/' 

"Oh,  coach-wan,  it  is  my  husband  we 
follow  !  The  woman  with  him  is  of  those 
who  steal  men's  senses  from  them  and  rob 
women  of  their  husbands.  Oh,  make  haste, 
make  haste !" 

They  flew  along  the  road.  And  when 
the  light  of  the  wayside  fire  at  Lai  Kooah 
gleamed  in  the  distance  the  lady  said, 
"Thou  wilt  not  leave  me  here  to  another 
driver,  coach-wan  ? — Thou  art  a  man,  and  I 
may  need  a  man's  services  to-night." 

"  Mem-sahib,  I  am  thy  servant  even  as 
far  as  Moradabad  if  it  be  necessary." 

"God  reward  thee  !"  she  exclaimed. 

And  then  Ram  Deen  woke  the  jungle 
echoes  with  a  brave  blast. 

The  hostler  at  Lai  Kooah  had  fresh 
horses  ready  by  the  time  the  mail-cart 
drove  up,  and  in  less  than  five  minutes 
Ram  Deen  and  his  charge  were  speeding 
along  the  level  road. 

The  jungle  had  now  ceased,  and  they 
were  in  the  region  of  the  tall  plumed  grass. 
The  stars  twinkled  frostily,  for  the  night 
60 


The  Woman  in  the  Carriage 

was  bitterly  cold,  and  the  clatter  of  the 
horses'  hoofs  on  the  hard  road  rang  out 
sharply. 

"The  little  one, — is  it  well  wrapped  up, 
mem-sahib?"  asked  Ram  Deen. 

"  It  is  asleep,  and  quite  warm,  coach-wan. 
Proceed." 

When  they  had  left  Lai  Kooah  two  or 
three  miles  behind  them,  Ram  Deen's  keen 
eye  caught  the  glimmer  of  a  fire  through 
the  tall  grass  that  came  up  to  the  edge  of 
the  road  where  it  curved. 

"We  have  found  those  ye  seek,  mem- 
sahib,"  said  Ram  Deen,  bringing  his  horses 
to  a  stand-still. 

Through  the  quiet  night  came  the  voice 
of  a  drunken  woman  singing  a  ribald  bar 
rack-room  ditty  interspersed  with  fiendish 
laughter  and  oaths  : 

"  I'm  the  belle  of  the  Naini  Tal  mall. 

Houp  la  ! 

Not  a  colonel  nor  sub  at  the  mess 
But  makes  love  when  he  can  to  sweet  Sal. 

To  their  wives  do  they  dare  to  confess 
That  I'm  belle  of  the  Naini  Tal  mall  ? 
Yes,  I'm  belle  of  the  Naini  Tal  mall. 
Houp  la!" 
61 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

Then  the  singer  called  aloud,  "  Captain  ! 
Captain  Barfield  !"  But,  getting  no  response, 
she  beat  a  furious  tattoo  on  the  wooden 
panels  of  the  carnage,  shouting  at  the  top 
of  her  voice,  "  Pretty  sort  of  a  jaunt  to 
Moradabad  this  is  !  You're  a  liar,  captain  ! 
But  I'll  tell  your  doll-faced  wife  how  you 
treated  her  when  her  baby  was  only  two 
weeks  old."  She  then  swore  a  round  of 
torrid  oaths,  and  wound  up  with  a  scream 
that  might  have  been  heard  a  mile  off. 

"  Mem-sahib,"  said  Ram  Deen,  "  bide 
here  with  the  hostler  till  I  have  tamed 
that  she-devil,  and  then  I  will  take  thee  to 
the  captain  sahib.  The  little  one, — is  it 
warm?" 

"  Quite  warm,  and  still  asleep,  coach-wan. 
Go,  and  God  advance  thee  !" 

Ram  Deen  found  the  captain  seated  on 
a  log  in  front  of  a  blazing  fire.  With  his 
elbows  on  his  knees,  the  captain  pressed  a 
finger  to  each  ear  to  escape  the  tirade  of 
the  terrible  woman  in  the  carriage.  A 
touch  on  his  shoulder  made  him  start  to  his 
feet,  and  as  he  turned  round  Ram  Deen 
salaamed  gravely. 

62 


The  Woman  in  the  Carriage 

"  I  thought  the  sahib  slept.  No  ?  Her 
speech  galled  thee,"  pointing  to  the  car 
riage,  "and  thou  wast  fain  not  to  hear  it?" 

The  captain  nodded  assent.  He  was 
worn  with  the  trying  position  his  folly  had 
placed  him  in,  and,  at  another  time,  he 
might  have  resented  the  touch  on  his 
shoulder,  but  the  tall  native  in  front  of  him 
spoke  with  dignity  and  a  quiet  assurance 
indicative  of  a  large  fund  of  reserve  force, 
— and  he  might  be  helpful. 

"Where  are  thy  servants,  sahib?" 

"  They  fled  when  she  cursed  them.  May 
the  devil  take  them  !" 

"  I  am  the  driver  of  the  mail-cart  on  this 
road,  sahib,  as  thou  mayest  see,"  said  Ram 
Deen,  pointing  to  his  badge  and  bugle, 
"and  this  woman's  tongue  stayeth  the 
Queen's  mail ;  for  on  my  cart,  which  I  have 
left  behind  the  bend  of  the  road  yonder,  is 
a  mem-sahib  who  perchance  knoweth  thee, 
for  she,  too,  cometh  from  Naini  Tal,  and 
'twere  well  she  should  not  hear  thy  name 
on  this  woman's  lips.  She  must  not  be 
kept  waiting  long,  sahib,  for  the  babe  in 
her  arms  is  but  two  weeks  in  age"  (the 
63 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

captain  started),  "and  the  night  is  exceed 
ingly  bitter.  Have  I  the  sahib's  permission 
to  drive  his  carriage  beyond  the  hearing  of 
those  who  are  fain  to  pass  ?" 

"  Drive  her  to  Jehandum,  coach-wan,  so 
she  come  to  no  hurt" 

Thereupon  Ram  Deen  approached  the 
carriage,  and  tapped  on  the  door,  saying, 
"Woman,  it  is  not  meet  that  the  worthy 
traffic  of  the  Queen's  highway  should  be 
disturbed  by  thy  unseemly  conduct." 

For  answer  he  received  a  volley  of  curses 
in  broken  Hindustani,  such  curses  as  are  in 
vogue  in  the  barracks  of  English  regiments 
in  India ;  and  the  woman  in  the  carriage 
wound  up  with  a  request  for  more  brandy. 

"  Nay,  it  is  not  brandy  thou  shouldst 
have,  but  water, — cold  water  to  cool  thy  hot 
tongue,"  and  mounting  the  carriage  Ram 
Deen  urged  the  jaded  horses  into  a  trot. 

Two  hundred  yards  farther  on  the  road 
crossed  the  Bore  Nuddee,  now  a  sluggish 
river  about  four  feet  deep.  Leaving  the 
road  Ram  Deen  drove  down  the  bank  and 
into  the  stream.  When  the  woman  in  the 
carriage  heard  the  splashing  of  the  horses, 
64 


The  Woman  in  the  Carriage 

and  felt  the  water  rise  to  her  knees,  she 
screamed  with  fear  and  became  suddenly 
sober. 

"Hast  had  water  enough  to  cool  thy 
tongue  ?"  asked  Ram  Deen,  tapping  on  the 
roof  of  the  carriage. 

"Stop,  stop!"  she  entreated,  frantically. 
"I  will  do  whatever  you  wish." 

"Canst  thou  forget  Captain  Barfield's 
name,  or  must  I  drive  into  deeper  water?" 

"I  know  not  whereof  you  speak." 

"  Tis  well !     And  who  is  thy  husband  ?" 

"  A  soldier  whose  regiment  is  at  Delhi, 
whither  I  go." 

"Thou  must  be  true  to  him  hereafter. 
— Ho  there,  horse  !  the  alligators  cannot 
swallow  thee  !" 

"  Alligators  !  Are  there  alligators  in  this 
river?"  whined  the  woman  in  the  carriage. 

"There  is  scarce  room  for  them  within 
its  banks." 

"  Oh,  sahib,  I  am  fain  to  go  to  my  hus 
band,  whom  alone  I  care  for.  Proceed,  for 
the  love  of  God  !" 

So  Ram  Deen  drove  her  through  the 
stream  and  up  the  opposite  bank  on  to  the 
5  65 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

road.  When  he  had  tied  the  horses  to  a 
tree  by  the  highway,  he  said,  "  There  will 
be  travellers  going  thy  way  presently,  and 
they  will  drive  thee  to  Moradabad.  Re 
member,  I  may  have  business  in  Delhi  very 
soon.  Salaam,  Faithless  One." 

And  the  woman    responded   in   a  very 
meek  tone,  "Salaam." 
******** 
******** 

"  Come,  mem-sahib,"  said  Ram  Been,  as 
he  resumed  his  seat  on  the  mail-cart ;  "  the 
captain  sahib  awaits  thee." 

When  they  were  abreast  of  the  fire,  she 
called  in  a  faint,  tremulous  voice,  "  Harry, 
Harry,  my  dear  husband  !  I  am  very  tired, 
and  very  cold.  Won't  you  come  to  me?" 

Leaving  the  hostler  in  charge  of  the 
mail-cart,  Ram  Been  followed  the  captain 
as  he  carried  his  wife  to  the  fire. 

Seating  her  on  the  log,  Captain  Barfield 
knelt  beside  his  wife,  chafing  and  kissing 
her  hands. 

"  Thank  God,  you  found  me  !"  he  sobbed. 

"  The  ayah  told  me  a  few  hours  after  you 
left  me  that  that — that  woman  had  been 
66 


The  Woman  in  the  Carriage 

seen  to  join  you  beyond  Serya  Tal ;  so  I 
and  the  baby  came  to  help  you.  You  still 
love  us,  dearest?"  she  asked,  pleadingly. 

"  My  beloved,  I  am  not  worthy  of  you  ! 
There  is  a  sword  in  my  heart !"  And  he 
bowed  his  head  on  her  lap  and  wept,  whilst 
she  stroked  his  hair  with  a  slender  hand. 

"God  has  been  very  good  to  me  to 
night,"  she  said,  softly. 

Soon  after,  removing  the  shawl  from  the 
little  one's  face,  she  said,  "  Kiss  your  baby, 
Harry." 

His  lips  touched  the  little  face. — It  was 
very  cold.  He  started  back,  and,  taking 
the  child  from  its  mother's  arms,  he  held  it 
near  the  firelight. — It  was  dead  ! 

As  they  looked  across  the  little  limp  body 
into  each  other's  eyes  with  speechless  agony, 
Ram  Been  bent  over  them  and  took  the 
little  one  tenderly  from  the  captain's  hands. 

" Attend  to  the  living,  sahib;  I  will  see 
to  thy  dead,"  he  said,  softly. 

He  turned  away  his  face  from  the  sorrow 
that  was  too  sacred  to  be  witnessed  by  any 
one  save  God. 

As  Captain  Barfield  folded  his  young  wife 
67 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

in  his  arms,  a  deep  groan  rent  his  breast  at 
the  thought  of  his  folly  and  its  conse 
quence. 

"Thou  wert  very  tender — a  mere  blos 
som — and  the  frost  withered  thee,"  said 
Ram  Deen  very  gently,  composing  the 
baby's  limbs. 


68 


CHAPTER   VI 

For  the   Training  of  Eiroo 

H,  small    villain,   budmash !    must   I 


"A 


send  thee  back  to  Nyagong,  thee 
and  thy  dog,  to  learn  respect  for  thy 
betters?  The  Thanadar's  son  hath  the 
ordering  of  thee,  and  thou  hast  beaten  him, 
— toba,  toba !" 

"  My  father,"  replied  Biroo,  respectfully, 
to  Ram  Deen,  "  Mohun  Lai  took  my  kite, 
and  when  I  strove  to  hold  mine  own  he 
smote  me,  whereon  I  pulled  his  hair ;  and 
'twas  no  fault  of  mine  that  it  lacked  strength 
and  remained  in  my  hand.  So  he  set  his 
dog  on  me  ;  but  Hasteen  slew  it  Wherein 
have  I  offended,  my  father?" 

And  the  Thanadar  laughed,  saying, 
"  Ram  Deen,  Mohun  Lai  but  received  his 
due."  To  the  "defendant  in  the  case"  he 
said,  "  Get  thee  to  sleep,  Biroo  ;  and  be 
brave  and  strong  ;  so  will  Nana  Debi  reward 
69 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

thee."  Then  turning  to  those  who  sat 
round  the  fire,  he  went  on,  "  Brothers,  'tis 
late,  and  I  would  have  speech  with  Ram 
Deen.  Ye  may  take  your  leave." 

When  they  were  by  themselves,  the 
Thanadar  spoke.  "  The  man-child  waxeth 
fierce  and  strong,  my  old  friend  ;  'twere 
well  he  were  restrained.  He  will  be  wealthy 
by  thy  favor,  and  the  favor  of  Nyagong, 
when  he  cometh  to  man's  estate,  and  'twere 
pity  that  he  should  lack  courtesy  when  he 
is  a  man  grown." 

"  Thanadar  ji,  thou  art  his  father  as  much 
as  I  am.  Thou  shouldst  correct  him  with 
strokes  whenas  I  am  on  the  road  and  carry 
ing  the  Queen's  mail." 

"Blows  but  inure  to  hardness,  and — 
Gunga  knoweth! — little  Biroo  is  hard  al 
ready.  Why  dost  thou  not  give  up  the 

service  of  the  Queen,  and "  He  paused, 

and  after  awhile  asked,  "  What  didst  thou 
receive  from  Captain  Barfield  ?" 

"  The  gun  thou  hast  seen,  Thanadar  ji ; 
but  from  his  mem-sahib  five  hundred 
rupees,  a  timepiece  of  gold,  and  whatso 
ever  I  may  want  hereafter.  The  money 
70 


For  the  Training  of  Biroo 

lieth  in  the  hands  of  Moti  Ram,  the  great 
mahajun  (banker)  of  Naini  Tal." 

"  Wah  !  Ram  Deen,  thou  art  thyself  rich 
enough  to  be  a  mahajun.  Consider,  too, 
the  kindness  bestowed  by  Nyagong  on 
Biroo  at  thy  asking, — two  hundred  rupees 
and  over,  and  much  merchandise.  Leave 
the  road,  my  friend,  and  put  thy  money 
out  at  usury.  A  woman  in  thy  hut  to  cook 
thy  evening  meal,  and  mend  Biroo' s  ways, 
were  not  amiss.  Eh  ?  The  daughters  of 
the  Terai  are  very  fair,  as  thou  knowest, 
coach- wan  ji." 

' '  The  road  hath  been  father  and  mother 
to  me,  Thanadar  Sahib,  since  I  lost  my 
Buldeo,  who  knew  not  his  mother ;  so  I  may 
not  leave  it.  And  when  I  think  of  Bheem 
Dass,  bunnia  and  usurer  of  the  village 
whereof  I  was  potter  three  years  ago,  and 
whom  ye  found  dead  on  the  road  the  day  I 
brought  in  the  mail,  and  was  made  driver, 
as  thou  rememberest,  I  may  not  live  by 
harassing  the  poor  and  the  widow  and 
fatherless.  God  forbid  !  As  for  women, — 
they  be  like  butterflies  that  flit  from  flower 
to  flower ;  perchance,  if  I  could  find  a 
71 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

woman  who  cared  not  to  gossip  at  the 
village  well,  and  had  eyes  and  thoughts  for 
none  save  her  husband,  I  might — but  I  must 
be  about  my  business  on  the  road,  and  I 
have  no  time  for  the  seeking  of  such  a 
woman.  Wah  !  I  have  not,  even  as  yet, 
tried  the  gun  Barfield  sahib  gave  me." 

Soon  afterwards,  by  an  alteration  of  the 
service,  Ram  Deen  brought  the  mail  to 
Kaladoongie  in  the  early  afternoon,  and 
availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  thus 
afforded  of  rambling  about  during  the  rest 
of  the  day  in  the  jungle  with  Biroo  and 
Hasteen,  in  search  of  small  game. 

One  day  they  came  upon  a  half-grown 
fawn,  at  which  Ram  Deen  let  fly  with  both 
barrels ;  but  as  his  gun  was  loaded  with 
small  shot  only,  the  deer  bounded  away 
apparently  unhurt,  with  Hasteen  in  hot 
pursuit,  whilst  Ram  Deen  and  Biroo  fol 
lowed  with  what  haste  they  could. 

Presently,  they  could  hear  the  baying  of 
the  great  dog  and  the  shrill  cries  of  a 
woman  in  distress.  Directed  by  these 
sounds,  they  crossed  the  road  that  leads  to 
Naini  Tal,  and,  scrambling  up  the  bank  and 
,72 


For  the  Training  of  Birco 

over  a  low  stone  wall,  they  found  themselves 
in  a  neglected  garden,  in  the  middle  of 
which  was  a  grass  hut,  whence  issued  the 
cries  that  had  quickened  their  steps.  They 
arrived  just  in  time,  for  Hasteen  had  almost 
dug  himself  into  the  hut. 

Calling  off  the  dog,  Ram  Deen  hastened 
to  allay  the  fears  of  the  woman  in  the  hut, 
who  was  still  giving  voice  to  her  distress  in 
the  Padhani  patois.  "  The  dog  will  not  harm 
thee ;  see,  I  have  tied  him  with  my  waist 
band  to  a  tree." 

"Who  art  thou?"  asked  the  woman. 
The  tones  of  her  voice,  when  she  spoke, 
were  exceedingly  soft  and  pleasant,  and 
made  one  long  to  look  upon  the  face  of 
the  speaker. 

"I  am  Ram  Deen,  the  driver  of  the 
mail-cart,  and  well  known  in  Kaladoongie." 

"  I  have  heard  of  thee  and  thy  doings, 
and  will  come  forth.  But  the  dog  (Nana 
Debi,  was  there  ever  such  a  dog ! — he 
almost  slew  my  fawn),  art  thou  sure  he  can 
not  harm  us?" 

"  Kali  Mai  twist  my  joints,  if  he  be  not 
well  secured." 

73 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

Whereupon  the  door  of  the  hut  was 
opened  a  few  inches.  Having  satisfied 
herself  that  all  was  as  Ram  Deen  had  said, 
the  young  woman  came  out  of  the  hut  with 
one  arm  about  the  fawn. 

She  was  a  Padhani,  and  in  her  early 
womanhood.  The  simple  kilt  she  wore 
allowed  her  shapely  ankles  to  be  seen,  and 
her  bodice  well  expressed  the  charms  of 
her  youthful  figure.  Ram  Deen  thought 
her  eyes  were  not  less  beautiful  than  the 
fawn's. 

After  salaaming  to  him,  she  looked  at 
her  pet.  "Oh,  sahib,  she  bleeds, — my 
Ganda  bleeds  !"  she  exclaimed,  pointing 
to  a  slender  streak  of  red  on  the  fawn's 
flank. 

"  Belike  some  thorn  tore  her  skin  as  she 
fled,"  said  Ram  Deen;  but  he  knew  that  at 
least  one  shot  from  his  gun  had  taken 
effect. 

"Tis  a  sore  hurt,  Coach- wan  sahib. 
Will  she  die?" 

"  Nay,  little  one,  'tis  nought.    See  !"  and 
with  a  wisp  of  grass  Ram  Deen  wiped  the 
blood  from  the  fawn's  skin. 
74 


For  the  Training  of  Biroo 

"  But  the  dog,  coach-wan, — thou  wilt  not 
permit  him  to  fright  my  Ganda  again  ?  " 

"Of  a  surety,  not."  Then,  with  a  hand 
on  the  fawn's  head,  he  rebuked  Hasteen, 
saying,  "Villain,  the  jackals  shall  pursue 
thee  if  thou  huntest  here  again!"  And 
Hasteen  hung  his  head,  putting  his  tail 
between  his  legs ;  and  the  young  girl  knew 
that  Ganda  was  safe  thereafter  from  the 
great  dog. 

As  they  talked  together,  a  very  decrepit 
old  man  appeared  at  the  door  of  the  hut  ; 
after  peering  at  Ram  Deen  from  under  his 
hand,  he  spoke  in  the  flat,  toneless  voice  of 
a  deaf  man  :  "  Tumbaku,  Provider  of  the 
Poor,  give  me  tumbaku." 

Ram  Deen  put  his  pouch  of  dried 
tobacco-leaf  in  the  old  man's  hand,  and 
looked  inquiringly  at  the  young  woman. 

' '  It  is  my  grandfather,  and  he  is  deaf 
and  nearly  blind, — and  a  sore  affliction. 
Give  back  his  tumbaku  to  the  sahib,  da- 
da,"  she  said  in  a  louder  voice  to  the  old 
man. 

"  Nay,  nay,  let  him  keep  it ! "  said  Ram 
Deen ;  then  after  a  pause,  and  by  way  of 
75 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

excuse  for  staying  a  little  longer,  he  in 
quired  the  old  man's  name. 

"  Hera  Lai,  Coach-wan  sahib  ;  our  kins 
man  is  Thapa  Sing,  of  Serya  Tal,  who 
was  accounted  rich,  and  planted  this  gar 
den  and  these  fruit  trees  many  years  ago. 
We  stay  here  by  his  leave  in  the  winter 
time,  to  keep  the  deer  and  wild  hog  out. 
My  name  is  Tara,  and  I  sell  firewood  to 
Gunga  Ram  the  sweetmeat  vendor." 

Whilst  she  was  speaking,  Biroo  had 
approached  the  fawn  with  a  handful  of 
grass. 

"  Is  this  the  little  one  they  say  ye  found 
on  the  Bore  bridge,  sahib?"  inquired  the 
young  Padhani. 

Ram  Deen  nodded  affirmatively. 

"Poor  child!"  she  exclaimed,  and, 
moved  by  a  sudden  impulse  of  pity,  she 
knelt  beside  Biroo,  and  smoothing  the  hair 
from  his  face  she  put  a  marigold  behind 
his  ear. 

Next   day,   after   he   had   delivered  the 

mail,  Ram  Deen,  making  a  bundle  of  his 

best  clothes,   started  off  into  the  jungle. 

When  he  was  out  of  sight  of  the  village, 

76 


For  the  Training  of  Biroo 

he  donned  a  snowy  tunic  and  a  scarlet  tur 
ban,  and  encased  his  feet  in  a  pair  of  red, 
hide-sewn  shoes.  When  Tara,  on  her  way 
to  the  bazaar  with  a  load  of  firewood,  met 
him  soon  after,  she  thought  she  had  never 
seen  any  one  so  bravely  attired,  and  stepped 
off  the  path  to  make  room  for  him  to  pass. 

"  Toba,  toba !  "  he  exclaimed ;  "  it  maketh 
my  head  ache  to  see  the  load  thou  bearest. 
Gunga  Ram  will,  doubtless,  give  thee  not 
less  than  eight  annas  for  the  firewood." 

"Nay,  Coach-wan  sahib,  Gunga  Ram  is 
just,  and  besides  giving  me  the  market 
price, — two  annas, — he  often  bestoweth  on 
me  a  handful  of  sweetmeats." 

"  Thou  shalt  sell  no  more  wood  to  Gunga 
Ram.  He  is  base,  and  his  father  is  a  dog. 
Set  thy  load  at  my  door ;  here  is  the  price 
thereof,"  and  Ram  Been  laid  an  eight- 
anna  piece  in  her  palm.  Before  she  could 
recover  from  her  astonishment  he  said, 
"The  fawn  Ganda,  is  her  hurt  healed?" 

"It  is  well  with  her.  And  what  of 
Biroo,  sahib?" 

"  He  is  a  budmash,  Tara,  and  I  repent 
me  of  befriending  him." 
77 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

"  Nay,  Coach-wan  sahib,  he  is  but  little, 
and  hath  no  mother." 

"That  is  the  evil  of  it,"  said  Ram  Been, 
leaving  her  abruptly. 

When  Tara  returned  to  her  home  that 
evening,  she  noticed  the  footprints  of  a 
man's  shoes  in  the  dust  in  front  of  the  hut ; 
her  grandfather,  looking  at  her  cunningly, 
smoked  sweetened  tobacco  that  was  well 
flavored,  and  the  clay  bowl  of  his  hookah 
was  new  and  was  gayly  painted. 

A  similar  scene  was  enacted  on  the 
jungle  path  the  next  day,  and  many  days 
in  succession,  and  the  tale  of  Biroo's  ini 
quities  grew  at  each  recital.  Every  day 
there  was  some  fresh  villainy  of  his  to  re 
late,  and  each  day  Tara's  grandfather 
waxed  in  affluence,  which  culminated  one 
day  in  a  new  blanket  and  a  small  purse 
with  money  in  it 

"Tara,"  said  Ram  Deen  one  day,  "put 
down  thy  load  ;  I  have  bad  tidings  to  tell 
thee  concerning  Biroo.  He  and  Hasteen 
killed  a  milch-goat  to-day  belonging  to  the 
Thanadar." 

"  'Twas  the  dog's  doing,  Ram  Deen." 
78 


For  the  Training  of  Biroo 

"  Nay,  Biroo  is  the  older  budmash,  and 
planneth  all  the  villainies.  To-morrow  I 
must  pay  the  Thanadar  three  rupees  and 
eight  annas,  or  Hasteen  will  be  slain  and 
Biroo  beaten  with  a  shoe  by  the  Thanadar's 
chuprassi." 

"  Biroo  shall  not  be  beaten  for  a  matter 
of  three  or  four  rupees,  sahib.  Lo,  here  is 
the  money,"  and  Tara,  taking  a  small  purse 
from  a  tiny  pocket  in  her  bodice,  held  it 
out  to  him. 

"Nay,  listen  further!"  exclaimed  Ram 
Deen,  holding  up  his  hands ;  "thou  knowest 
I  am  wifeless,  and  I  might  have  the  best 
and  fairest  woman  in  the  Terai  for  my  wife ; 
but  she  liketh  not  Biroo,  and  will  not  share 
my  hut  because  of  him.  Verily,  I  shall 
return  him  to  the  men  of  Nyagong." 

"Thou  art,  doubtless,  entitled  to  the 
best  and  the  fairest  wife  in  the  Terai,"  said 
Tara,  with  a  sudden  catch  in  her  voice ; 
"  but  Biroo  goeth  not  back  to  Nyagong  as 
long  as  our  hut  standeth  and  as  long  as 
Gunga  Ram,  who  is  a  just  man  and  a 
generous,  will  pay  me  two  annas  each  day 
for  wood."  She  turned  away  her  face,  so 
79 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

that  Ram  Deen  should  not  see  the  tears 
that  suddenly  filled  her  eyes. 

"Tis  well,  Tara;  thou  shalt  have  him, 
but  thou  must  beat  him  every  day,  and 
often,  to  make  an  upright  man  of  him." 

"Nana  Debi  wither  the  hand  that  striketh 
him  !  He  is  not  a  dog  to  be  taught  with 
stripes."  Then,  after  a  pause,  she  went 
on,  "And  the — the  woman  who  is  to  be  the 
best  and  fairest  wife  in  the  Terai, — what 
manner  of  woman  is  she  ?" 

"She  is  about  thine  age." 

"Yes?" 

"And  as  tall  as  thou  art." 

"Proceed." 

"  Her  voice  is  soft  and  sweet  as  a  black 
bird's,  and  her  eyes  are  like  a  fawn's.  Her 
name  is " 

"Well,  what  is  her  name?" 

"Tis  the  most  beautiful  name  that  a 
woman  can  bear.  Nay,  how  can  I  tell 
thee  her  name  if  thou  wilt  not  look  at 
me?" 

When  she  had  turned  her  eyes  on  him, 
he  put  his  hands  on  her  shoulders,  saying, 
"  Her  name  is  Tara,  Star  of  the  Terai." 
80 


For  the  Training  of  Biroo 

And  Tara  put  her  head  on  his  breast, 
and  was  very  happy. 

"  Thou  must  beat  Biroo,  Beloved,  or  he 
will  be  hanged." 

"  Thou  wouldst  have  been  hanged,  bud- 
mash,  hadst  thou  been  motherless  and 
beaten  by  strangers.  Biroo's  mother  will 
make  him  a  better  man  than  thou  art,  O 
Beater  of  Babes." 

"And  thou  takest  me  for  love?" 

"  Nay,  coachwan  ji,  but  for  the  training 
of  Biroo." 


CHAPTER   VII 

Chandni 

A  BOUT  a  mile  below  the  eastern  gorge 
f\  of  Naini  Tal,  the  favorite  hill- 
station  of  Kumaon,  is  a  Padhani  village 
overlooking  Serya  Tal.  It  is  inhabited  by 
a  few  score  of  low-caste  hill-men,  who  earn 
a  living,  they  and  their  women-folk,  by 
carrying  rough-hewn  stones  from  the  hill 
sides  for  contractors  engaged  in  building 
houses,  or  by  selling  fodder-grass  and  fire 
wood  to  the  English  residents. 

When  a  Padhani  has  accumulated  suffi 
cient  means  he  purchases  a  wife  and  stays 
at  home  every  other  day ;  and  when  he 
has  attained  affluence  and  bought  two  wives, 
he  stays  at  home  altogether ;  which  ac 
counts  for  the  fact  that  a  large  majority  of 
these  carriers  of  wood  and  stone  are 
women. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  Padhani 
women  look  upon  their  toilsome  tasks  as  a 
82 


Chandni 

hardship  :  nature,  and  the  decrees  of  evo 
lution,  have  endowed  them  with  superb 
health  and  strength,  and  they  are  wont,  as 
they  carry  the  most  astonishing  loads,  to 
sing  joyous  choruses,  and  so  lighten  their 
toils.  Every  one  who  has  been  to  Naini 
Tal  is  familiar  with  the  sight  of  a  string 
of  Padhani  women,  short-kilted,  showing  a 
span  of  brown  skin  between  their  bodices 
and  skirts,  and  singing  in  unison. 

They  never  seem  to  weary  of  their  chor 
uses,  and  Captain  Trenyon  of  the  Forest 
Department,  and  his  khansamak,  Bijoo, 
never  tired  of  looking  at  them  as  they 
passed  below  his  bungalow  with  swaying 
hips  and  jaunty  carriage.  They  were  a 
trifle  darker  than  their  Rajpoot  sisters  (quod 
tune,  si  fuscus  Amyntas),  and  they  might 
have  been  akin  to  Pharaoh's  daughter,  she 
who  was  "  black  but  comely." 

Now,  Bijoo  was  a  Padhani,  and  he  took 
more  than  a  casual  interest — such  as  Cap 
tain  Trenyon' s,  doubtless, was — in  the  laugh 
ing  and  singing  crowd  that  filed  below  the 
captain's  house  several  times  a  day.  Chief- 
est  among  them,  and  distinguished  by  her 
83 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

beauty  and  her  stature,  was  Chandni ;  and, 
ere  the  season  was  over,  Bijoo  purchased  her 
from  her  crippled  father  for  ten  rupees,  and, 
thereafter,  Captain  Trenyon  turned  his  back 
on  the  Padhani  traffic  of  the  Mall  to  watch 
Chandni  instead,  as  she  helped  Bijoo  to 
clean  the  silver ;  and  the  songs  of  the  Pad 
hani  women  attracted  him  no  more. 


The  following  year,  before  the  snows  of 
February  had  cleared  off  from  Shere-ke 
Danda  and  Larya  Kata,  Chandni  returned 
alone  to  the  house  of  her  father,  Thapa,  at 
Serya  Tal.  It  was  night  when  she  pushed 
back  the  thatch  door  of  his  hut,  which  was 
in  darkness  within,  and  called  him  by 
name  : 

"It  is  I,  father,  Chandni,  thy  daughter." 
"  Moon   of  my    Heart ! "    said   the    old 
man,  waking  from  his  sleep,  and  he  would 
have  "lifted  up  his  voice  and  wept,"  as  is 
the  manner  of  all  orientals  when  greatly 
moved,  but  she  prevented  him  by  the  im- 
pressiveness  of  her  "  Choop,  choop!  father  ; 
proclaim  not  my  return  to  the  village  ! " 
84 


Chandni 

"  Where  is  Bijoo,  the  man  thy  hus 
band?" 

"  Nana  Debi  alone  knoweth,  my  father, 
and  I  have  come  back  to  thee." 

"Is  he  dead,  little  one?" 

"  He  is  dead  to  me,  da-da ;  and  I  have 
returned  to  cook  thy  food  and  carry  wood 
and  stone  for  thee,  if  thou  wilt  let  me." 

"Let  thee,  O  Spray  of  Jessamine  !"  and 
the  old  man  caught  his  breath,  and  once 
more  she  had  to  check  his  emotions  with 
an  imperative  "Choop,  choop  !" 

He  left  his  charpoi,  and  raking  together 
the  embers  in  the  chula,  he  blew  on  them 
till  they  kindled  into  a  blaze,  at  which  he 
lit  a  smoky  chirag,  whose  dim  light  showed 
Chandni  sitting  on  the  ground  with  her 
back  towards  him,  swaying  to  and  fro,  and 
crying  softly  "  Aho,  aho,  mai  bap  !" 

He  sat  by  the  fire  patiently,  waiting  for 
her  to  speak,  his  hands  trembling  with  ap 
prehension. 

When   her    composure   was   sufficiently 

restored,  she  said,  "Thapa  Sing,  my  father, 

Nana   Debi  hath  no  ears  for  a  woman's 

prayers ;     do     thou,     therefore,     sacrifice 

85 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

a  goat  to  him  to-morrow  at  Naini  Tal, 
and  entreat  his  curses  on  all  Faringis. 
See,  here  is  money,"  and  she  threw  a  small 
bag  of  coins  towards  him. 

He  picked  up  the  purse,  and  after  a 
pause  she  went  on  : 

"  My  father,  the  Mussulmanis  do  well 
to  veil  their  women's  faces.  Trenyon 
sahib  looked  upon  me  ere  I  was  married 
to  Bijoo,  and  since  then,  daily,  in  his  jungle 
camp  hath  he  scorched  me  with  his  eyes, 
till  my  cheeks  felt  as  though  the  hot  wind 
had  blown  on  them. 

"  One  day,  Bijoo  came  home  with  a  coin 
of  gold  in  his  hand,  such  as  I  had  never 
seen  before,  and  which,  he  said,  the  sahib 
had  given  him  ;  and  he  bored  a  hole  through 
it  and  hung  it  on  my  forehead,  and  bade 
me  wear  it  there  at  the  sahib's  request ;  but 
he  stabbed  me  with  his  eyes  as  he  put  it 
on  me. 

"And  the  next  day,  Bhamaraya,  the 
sweeper's  lame  wife,  (Kali  Mai  afflict  her 
with  leprosy  !)  came  to  the  door  of  our 
hut,  Bijoo  being  gone  to  the  village  mar 
ket  for  food  supplies,  and  she  extolled  my 
86 


Chandni 

beauty,  and  showed  a  picture  of  myself 
made  by  Trenyon  sahib  by  the  help  of  the 
sun  ;  and  thereafter  I  veiled  myself  when 
I  went  abroad. 

"She  came  again  the  next  day,  and 
whensoever  Bijoo  was  away  from  homo, 
always  praising  my  lips  and  my  eyes,  and 
telling  me  what  Trenyon  sahib  spake  con 
cerning  me.  And  yesterday  she  came  to 
me  and  said,  *  Chandni,  O  Moon  of  the 
Jungle,  Trenyon  sahib  would  fain  have 
speech  with  thee.  To-night  will  he  send 
Bijoo  with  a  message  to  the  thana  at  Kala- 
doongie,  and  when  he  is  gone  and  the  other 
servants  be  asleep  I  will  conduct  thee  to 
the  sahib's  tent  See  what  he  hath  sent 
thee,'  and  she  placed  at  my  feet  a  gold 
bangle. 

"When  I  would  have  spurned  her  and  her 
lures  from  my  door  she  laughed  wickedly, 
saying,  '  Ho,  ho,  my  Pretty  Partridge  !  if 
golden  grain  will  not  catch  thee,  assuredly 
thou  art  entangled  in  the  snare  of  neces 
sity,  thou  Wife  of  a  Thief !'  and  she  pointed 
at  the  coin  on  my  forehead. 

"Then,  as  my  heart  turned  to  water, 
87 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

she  went  on  :  *  To-morrow  the  Thanadar 
will  return  with  Bijoo,  and,  unless  thou 
askest  the  clemency  of  the  sahib,  Bijoo 
will  be  charged  with  theft  and  taken  back 
to  Kaladoongie  as  a  prisoner. — The  Sircar 
sends  men  across  the  Black  Water  for  lesser 
offences  than  this  !' 

"And  being  a  woman,  and  fearing  I 
knew  not  what  dangers  for  Bijoo  and  my 
self,  I  entreated  Bhamaraya  to  take  me  to 
the  sahib's  tent,  promising  to  say  naught 
to  Bijoo. 

"  And  thus  it  fell  out,  Bijoo  being  away, 
that  I  went  with  the  lame  she-wolf  to 
Trenyon  sahib's  tent  last  night  to  make 
appeal  for  my  husband." 

She  paused  in  her  narrative  once  more, 
swaying  herself  to  and  fro  and  moaning, 
"Aho,  aho!"  Then,  after  a  while,  she 
went  on  : 

"When  we  were  in  the  sahib's  presence 
Bhamaraya  plucked  the  chudder  from  my 
face,  saying,  '  Lo,  sahib,  I  have  brought 
thee  the  Rose  of  the  Terai !'  Whereon  he 
filled  her  palms  with  rupees.  And  as  she 
left  the  room  she  spake  to  me,  saying,  '  The 
88 


Chandni 

saving  of  Bijoo  were  an  easy  task  for  thy 
beauty,  thou  Flower-Faced  Chandni.' 

"  And  I  stood  suppliant  before  the  sahib, 
with  folded  palms  and  downcast  eyes,  and 
in  the  silence  I  could  hear  the  beating  of 
my  heart.  After  a  while,  and  because  he 
spake  not,  I  looked  up  and  met  his  eyes 
that  burned  upon  my  face  ;  and  then  I  knew 
the  price  that  was  set  on  Bijoo' s  safety. 

"Falling  before  him,  I  clasped  his  feet, 
saying,  '  Provider  of  the  Poor,  let  thy  ser 
vant  depart  in  honor,  and  so  add  one  more 
jewel  to  the  crown  of  thy  worth.  See, 
here  is  the  coin  Bhamaraya  says  was  stolen 
from  thee  by  the  man  Bijoo,  my  husband.' 
And,  unwinding  the  gold  piece  from  my 
head,  I  laid  it  at  his  feet. 

"Thereupon  he  raised  me  from  the 
ground,  and  because  great  fear  was  upon 
me,  and  because  my  limbs  shook,  he  seated 
me  upon  his  bed,  whereon  was  a  leopard's 
skin.  Then,  filling  a  crystal  vessel  with 
sparkling  waters  that  bubbled  and  frothed, 
he  bade  me  drink.  And  my  courage  re 
vived,  and  once  more  I  made  plea  for  Bijoo. 

"  And  then  I  noticed,  for  the  first  time, 
89 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

that  the  air  of  the  tent  was  heavy  with  the 
odor  of  attar ;  slumbrous  music  came  from 
a  magical  box  on  the  table,  and  the  thought 
of  Bijoo  seemed  to  go  far  from  me,  as 
though  he  were  in  another  land,  and  I 
became  as  one  who  had  smoked  apheem 
or  churrus.  Then  the  sahib  bound  the 
gold  coin  on  my  brow  again,  and  spake 
words  to  me  such  as  I  had  never  heard 
from  man,  assuring  me  of  Bijoo's  safety, 
and  calling  me  Queen  of  the  Stars,  Dew  of 
the  Morning,  Breath  of  Roses,  and  putting 
a  strange  stress  upon  me  that  cared  not  for 
any  consequences. 

"  When  I  had  flown,  as  it  seemed  to  me, 
to  the  highest  peak  of  elation,  he  gave  me 
another  draught  of  the  sparkling  waters, 
and,  as  I  sank  back  on  the  pillows,  the  last 
thing  I  had  sense  of  was  his  hand  on  mine. 
Oh,  Nana  Debi,  that  I  had  never  waked 
again  !  Aho,  aho  !" 

And  once  more  the  woman  stopped  to 
indulge  her  grief. 

"When  I  waked  again,"  she  resumed, 
"  the  sahib  sat  by  the  table,  asleep,  with 
his  head  on  his  arm,  the  light  still  burning 
90 


Chandni 

brightly  over  him.  A  bird  cheeped  un 
easily  in  the  peepul-tree  above  the  tent, 
and  through  the  chink  of  the  door-way  I 
could  discern  the  faint  glimmer  of  the  false 
dawn.  Fearing  to  be  seen  in  or  near  the 
sahib's  tent  by  the  servants,  who  would 
soon  begin  to  stir,  I  made  shift  to  rise  from 
the  bed,  but  my  head  swam  from  the 
effects  of  the  strong  waters  I  had  drunk, 
and  I  fell  back  on  the  pillows  and  shut  my 
eyes  for  a  few  moments. 

"When  I  looked  again  Bijoo  stood 
within  the  door-way.  Holding  up  a  men 
acing  finger  that  enjoined  silence,  he  ad 
vanced  stealthily  on  Trenyon  sahib  with 
an  unsheathed  khookri.  Arrived  within 
striking  distance,  he  touched  the  sahib  on 
the  shoulder,  and,  as  the  sleeper  raised  his 
head  from  the  table,  the  heavy  blade  de 
scended  on  it  and  shore  it  from  the 
shoulders,  and  Trenyon  sahib  passed  from 
sleep  to  death  without  any  waking. 

"Tearing   the   coin  from   my  forehead, 
Bijoo  wound   his   fingers  in   my  hair   and 
bade  me  follow  him  without  any  outcry  on 
pain  of  instant  death. 
9* 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

"  When  we  had  passed  into  the  jungle  a 
mile  from  the  camp  he  bade  stand,  and 
then,  O  my  father,  he  inflicted  the  pun 
ishment  our  men  exact  from  unfaithful 
wives." 

u  O  Moonlight  of  my  Heart,  say  not  thou 
art  a  nakti !  Not  that !  not  that !" 

For  answer  she  rose  slowly  to  her  feet 
and  turned  towards  him.  Drawing  from 
her  face  the  chudder,  which  was  soaked 
with  blood,  she  disclosed  to  his  horrified 
gaze  a  countenance  with  a  hideous  gap 
between  the  eyes  and  mouth,  and  bearing 
no  resemblance  to  that  of  the  once  beauti 
ful  Chandni. 


92 


CHAPTER   VIII 

One   Thousand  Rupees  Reward 

THE  Terai  was  in  consternation  :  Cap 
tain  Trenyon  of  the  Forest  Depart 
ment  had  been  killed  by  his  khansamah, 
Bijoo ;  the  latter's  wife,  Chandni,  had  been 
horribly  mutilated  by  her  infuriated  hus 
band  in  accordance  with  an  immemorial 
right  claimed  by  the  men  of  the  Terai  in 
such  cases,  and  the  government  had  offered 
a  reward  of  one  thousand  rupees  for  the 
capture  of  the  injured  husband. 

"Are  we  dogs?"  said  Ram  Deen,  indig 
nantly,  when  the  Thanadar  had  displayed 
a  notice  of  the  reward  printed  in  Nagari 
that  was  to  be  posted  throughout  the  Terai. 
"Are  we  dogs,  brothers,  that  the  sircar 
should  tempt  us  with  base  money  to  betray 
men  for  exacting  just  retribution  from 
those  who  wrong  them  ?" 

"We  be  men,  coach-wan  ji,"  said  the 
bullock  driver,  valiantly ;  and  whilst  he 
93 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

spoke  the  great  dog,  Hasteen,  who  lay  at 
Ram  Deen's  feet,  pricked  up  his  ears  and 
growled  as  a  shadow  crept  along  the 
ground  from  the  peepul  tree  in  front  of  the 
village  temple  to  a  clump  of  tall  grass  some 
fifty  paces  from  the  Thanadar's  fire. 

"  Peace  !"  exclaimed  Ram  Deen,  venting 
his  spleen  on  the  dog  with  a  blow  from 
his  shoe  ;  "  dost  thou  not  know  a  jackal  as 
yet?"  Then  to  those  assembled  round  the 
fire  he  went  on,  raising  his  voice  :  "  Kali 
Mai  wither  the  hand  that  betrayeth  Bijoo, 
and  fire  consume  his  hut !  There  is  con 
tention  even  in  my  house,  because  the 
woman  Chandni  is  kin  to  my  wife,  who  be 
lieves  in  her  innocence ;  but  better  such 
contention,  and  bitter  silence  for  kindly 
speech,  than  that  brothers  should  sell 
brothers,  and  so  make  light  the  honor  of 
men  in  the  Terai  !" 

"  Nevertheless,"  said  the  Thanadar,  "  this 
notice  must  be  posted  wherever  men  pass 
or  congregate  throughout  this  Zeminda- 
ree." 

"Nevertheless,"  retorted  Ram  Deen, 
bitterly,  "  without  disrespect  to  thee,  Than- 
94 


One  Thousand  Rupees  Reward 

adar  Sahib,  it  shall  be  told  throughout  the 
Terai  that  Ram  Deen  spat  on  the  notice 
of  the  sircar  and  tore  it  in  shreds,"  and  the 
driver  of  the  mail-cart  proceeded  to  make 
his  words  good. 

Next  evening,  when  the  mail-cart  drove 
up  to  the  post-office,  little  Biroo  plucked 
Ram  Deen's  sleeve  as  he  dismounted. 
"Thou  must  come  with  me,"  he  said, 
simply. 

"Must,  Little  Parrot?" 
3    "  Ay,  father  mine.     Tara  wanteth  thee  ; 
and  there  is  pillau  for  thy  evening  meal." 

Now  Ram  Deen  had  fed  on  Gunga 
Ram's  stale  cates  the  evening  before  for 
having  expressed  approval  of  the  mutila 
tion  of  Chandni,  and  this  prospect  of  pillau, 
besides  appealing  shrewdly  to  his  eager 
stomach,  was,  perhaps,  a  sign  of  capitula 
tion  on  the  part  of  the  young  wife  he  had 
but  lately  wedded. 

As  he  approached  his  hut  his  nostrils 
were  assailed  with  the  odors  of  a  great 
cooking. 

"Thou  seest,  my  father,"  said  little  Bi- 
95 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

roo,  with  the  ineptitude  of  infancy,  "thou 
seest  what  awaits  thee  inside." 

When  Ram  Been  entered  his  abode  a 
woman's  voice  came  to  him  from  the  inner 
apartment,  saying,  "Feed,  Big  Elephant, 
stupid  as  thou  art  tall !" 

As  Ram  Been  fell  to,  Biroo  also  dipped 
his  hand  in  the  dish,  mouthful  for  mouth 
ful  ;  and  when  his  little  stomach  was  pleas 
antly  distended,  he  paused  and  said, 
"Where  didst  thou  sleep  last  night,  my 
father?" 

"'Twere  better  to  eat  pillau,  little  Blue 
Jay,  than  ask  questions  that  may  be  an 
swered  only  through  the  soles  of  thy  feet," 
replied  Ram  Been. 

"  O  valiant  Beater  of  Babes  !"  said  the 
voice  from  the  inner  room,  "  were  it  not 
for  Biroo,  I  would  return  to  my  grand 
father's  house  ;  but  thou  wouldst  starve  and 
ill-use  the  littte  one." 

"Nay,  my  Best  Beloved,"  said  Ram 
Been,  in  a  conciliatory  tone,  "thou  art 
not  even  just  to  me.  Listen " 

1 '  I  will  not  listen,  O  Brave  to  Women, 
till  thou  hast  answered  Biroo's  question." 
96 


One  Thousand  Rupees  Reward 

"  My  Star,  an'  you  should  tell  it  abroad 
that  I  did  not  sleep  in  mine  own  house  last 
night,  it  would  blacken  my  face  in  Kala- 
doongie." 

"  Thou  wilt  say,  perchance,  that  I  gossip 
at  the  village  well.  Go  on,  what  next  ?" 

"  Nay,  then,  if  thou  must  know  it,  I 
slept  in  Goor  Butt's  bullock-cart." 

"  'Twas  well,  Lumba  Deen  (Long  Legs). 
Ho,  ho,  ho  !  Thy  case  was  that  of  a  lad 
der  balanced  across  a  wall.  Proceed." 

"  The  grain  bags  I  lay  on,  Heart  of  my 
Heart,  were  stony,  and  the  night  was  full 
of  noises." 

"Yes.     And  thou  wast  warm?" 

"  Nay,  Beloved,  for  there  was  not  room 
for  the  drawing  up  of  my  knees  between 
myself  and  Goor  Dutt,  so  my  feet  were 
frozen,  and  Goor  Dutt  ceased  not  from 
snoring." 

"  'Twas  well,  Oppressor  of  Women  and 
Children.  And  thy  evening  meal  ?" 

"  Light  of  the  Terai,  Gunga  Ram's  stale 

pooris  were  ill-bestowed  on  a  pariah  dog, — 

but  the   savor  of  thy  pillau   hath  effaced 

the  wrong  done  to  my  stomach  last  night." 

7  97 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

' '  Ah  !  And  now  what  thinkest  thou  of 
my  kinswoman  Chandni?" 

"Tara,  Light  in  Darkness,  thou  art 
dearer  to  me  than  life  itself,  and  I  would 
not  lightly  vex  thee.  What  is  done  is 
done  ;  why  slay  me  with  thy  questions  ?  I 
were  not  worthy  of  thee  if  I  answered  thee 
differently  concerning  the  price  to  be  de 
manded  for  the  virtue  of  a  woman  ;  nay, 
do  not  cry,  little  one." 

A  sound  of  wailing  came  from  the  inner 
room,  where  two  women  were  weeping  in 
each  other's  arms.  "Aho  !  aho  !" 

"Tara,"  exclaimed  Ram  Deen,  starting 
to  his  feet,  "  who  is  the  woman  with  thee  ? 
and  why  is  she  here  ?  " 

"It  is  I,  Chandni,"  said  a  thick,  muffled 
voice,  "and  thou  doest  me  wrong,  coach- 
wan  ji.  Listen ! "  Then  the  strange 
woman  proceeded  to  tell  Ram  Deen  of  the 
slaying  of  Trenyon  sahib,  and  of  her  own 
horrible  mutilation. 

When  she  had  finished,  Ram  Deen  said, 
"  It  was  a  brave  stroke  that  Bijoo  gave  the 
sahib." 

"  It  was  well  done,  khodawund." 
98 


One  Thousand  Rupees  Reward 

"And  thou  art  not  sorry  for  the  killing 
of  the  sahib?" 

"Doorga  restore  me  and  afflict  me 
again,  if  I  do  not  think  it  was  a  good  kill- 
ing!" 

"They  will  hang  Bijoo  for  it ;  a  thou 
sand  rupees  hath  been  offered  for  his  tak 
ing,  alive  or  dead." 

"Aho!  aho!"  wailed  the  strange 
woman.  "  Men  will  be  wicked  for  even 
ten  rupees." 

"But  he  robbed  thee  of  thy  beauty," 
remonstrated  Ram  Deen. 

"  'Twas  right  to  do  so,  in  his  eyes,"  was 
the  reply. 

"And  'tis  true  thou  wast  in  Trenyon 
sahib's  tent  for  the  helping  of  Bijoo?  " 

"As  Nana  Debi  is  my  witness.  And  I 
know  not  all  that  happened,  for  the  sahib 
gave  me  strong  waters  to  drink  that  robbed 
me  of  my  senses." 

"Toba!  toba!"  exclaimed  Ram  Deen, 
walking  towards  the  outer  door.  "  Wife, 
see  to  it  that  thy  relative  is  properly  lodged 
this  night." 

"And  to-morrow  night?"  queried  Tara. 
99 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

"To-morrow  night  I  would  eat  of  a  kid 
seethed  in  milk  and  stuffed  with  pistachios 
by  thy  honorable  kinswoman.  Moreover, 
I  will  make  provision  for  her  ere  the  week 
is  out." 

"  My  lord  is  good  as  he  is  great,"  said 
Tara,  as  Ram  Deen  left  the  hut. 

The  next  night,  as  they  sat  around  the 
fire,  Ram  Deen  waited  till  the  shadow 
crept  from  the  peepul  tree  to  the  clump  of 
tall  grass. 

"  Brothers,"  he  began,  speaking  deliber 
ately  and  in  loud  tones,  "the  woman  we 
spake  of  last  night  is  guiltless  of  wrong,  as 
I  now  know.  She  is  here  and  in  my  hut, 
and  an  honored  guest."  He  paused  and 
looked  round  the  circle  grimly. 

"We  be  poor  men,  coach-wan  ji,"  said 
the  little  driver,  deprecatingly,  "and  thy 
honorable  kinswoman  is  deserving,  doubt 
less,  of  thy  exalted  consideration." 

"  She  is  deserving  of  the  consideration 
due  to  a  woman  who  was  greatly  wronged 
by  the  villain  who  was  slain,  and  by  the 
madman,  his  slayer.  She  was  lured,  broth 
ers,  into  the  sahib's  tent  by  the  sweeper's 


One  Thousand  Rupees  Reward 

wife,  Bhamaraya, — who  is  a  lame  she- wolf ! 
— for  the  purpose  of  pleading  for  her  man, 
Bijoo,  who  was  accused  of  theft ;  and  then 
she  was  robbed  of  her  senses  by  the  sahib's 
strong  waters,  and  hath  done  no  wrong ; 
let  no  man  in  the  Terai  gainsay  it ! " 

Ram  Been  paused  awhile  to  "  drink 
tobacco,"  but  nobody  made  comment  on  a 
matter  in  which  he  was  so  greatly  interested. 

"Bijoo's  life  is  forfeit,"  he  resumed; 
"and  the  rope  that  shall  hang  him  is 
already  made,  for  the  sircar  never  fails  to 
find  whom  it  seeks.  But  Bijoo,  alive  or 
dead,  is  worth  a  thousand  rupees  to  the 
man  who  shall  take  him.  'Twere  pity  that 
the  money  should  go  to  some  jackal  of  a 
man,  for  it  belongs,  of  a  right,  to  Chandni, 
whom  he  hath  wrongfully  mutilated  ;  but 
he  is  a  man,  and  will,  doubtless,  make  the 
only  reparation  in  his  power,  and  yield 
himself  up,  for  her  sake,  to  some  one  who 
will  bestow  the  blood  money  upon  her." 

The  shadow  rose  from  the  tall  grass  and 

speedily    disappeared    in     the     darkness. 

Soon  after,  those  who  sat  round  the  fire 

heard  the  dreadful  lamenting  of  a  strong 

101 


The  Taming  of :  the  Jungle 

man   who   walks    between    Remorse   and 
Despair. 

"  Brothers, "  said  Ram  Deen,  as  he  rose 
to  go  to  his  hut,  "  alive  or  dead,  Bijoo  will 
be  here  to-morrow  night" 

At  the  fire,  next  evening,  no  one  spoke  ; 
they  were  waiting  for  the  fulfilment  of 
Ram  Deen's  prediction,  and  the  bugle-call 
of  the  fateful  man  had  just  been  heard  in 
the  direction  of  the  Bore  bridge. 

"Bijoo  hath  come,  Thanadar  ji,"  said 
Ram  Deen,  as  he  dismounted  from  the 
mail-cart. 

He  then  proceeded,  with  the  help  of  his 
hostler,  to  lift  a  heavy  burden  covered  with 
a  cloth  from  the  back  seat  of  the  mail-cart 
The  limp  hands  trailing  on  the  ground  as 
they  carried  it  showed  their  burden  to  be 
a  corpse.  They  laid  it  in  the  firelight  ; 
and  Ram  Deen,  drawing  the  covering  from 
its  face,  disclosed  the  dreadful  features  of 
a  man  who  had  been  hanged  ;  part  of  the 
rope  that  had  strangled  him  still  encircled 
his  throat 

"This  was  the  way  of  it,"  began  Ram 
102 


One  Thousand  Rupees  Reward 

Been,  after  due  identification  had  been 
made  and  the  corpse  had  been  carried  to 
the  thana ;  "  this  was  the  way  of  it :  this 
evening,  just  before  we  began  the  descent 
that  leads  to  the  Bore  bridge,  a  man  sprang 
from  the  darkness  in  front  of  the  horses 
and  stayed  the  mail-cart  below  the  great 
huldoo  tree  that  stretches  its  arms  across 
the  road.  The  light  of  the  lamps  showed 
him  to  be  Bijoo.  So  I  sent  the  hostler  for 
ward  to  the  bridge  to  await  my  coming, 
for  Bijoo  and  I  were  fain  to  be  alone  for 
that  which  had  to  be  said  between  us. 

"When  we  were  by  ourselves  I  bade 
him  mount  the  mail-cart  and  sit  beside 
me.  As  he  took  his  place,  he  said,  '  Wah  ! 
coachwan,  dost  thou  not  fear  to  be  alone 
with  a  hunted  man  on  a  jungle  road  ?  I 
might  slay  thee  now,  for  I  am  armed,  and 
so  remove  the  only  man  who  can  match 
me  in  the  Terai.' 

"  <  Nevertheless/  I  replied,  '  I  will  take 
thee  to-night  to  Kaladoongie  with  my 
naked  hands,  if  need  be.' 

"  '  We  will  speak  of  that  hereafter,'  said 
Bijoo  ;  '  but  now  tell  me  of  her.9 
103 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

"  'She  is  as  you  made  her, — nakti  and 
poor  and  a  widow ;  for  thou  art  but  a  dead 
man,  Bijoo.' 

"  '  And  you  spake  the  truth,  last  night, 
when  you  said  she  went  to  the  sahib's  tent 
to  plead  for  me  ?' 

"  Taking  one  of  the  lamps,  I  held  it  to  my 
face,  saying,  *  Draw  now  thy  khookri,  Bijoo, 
and  slay  me  if  thou  thinkest  I  have  lied.' 

"*'Tis  well,'  he  replied,  sheathing  his 
weapon.  'And  what  will  become  of 
Chandni  ?' 

"'She  shall  dwell  honorably  with  her 
kinswoman  in  my  hut,  and  respected  of  all 
men  as  long  as  I  live ;  but  the  road  is  not 
safe,  Bijoo,  and  bad  men  and  jungle  fever 
and  wild  beasts  have  slain  better  men  than 
I ;  and,  bethink  thee,  by  yielding  thyself 
my  prisoner  thou  canst  bestow  one  thou 
sand  rupees  on  Chandni,  and  so  set  her 
beyond  the  reach  of  want  and  scoffers  till 
her  end  come/ 

"  He  mused   awhile,   and   then   replied 
quietly,   'I  will    go   with    thee.     Proceed. 
I   know  thou  wilt   bestow  upon   her   the 
reward  offered  by  the  sircar.' 
104 


One  Thousand  Rupees  Reward 

"  'But  they  will  hang  thee,  Bijoo.' 

"  '  Of  a  surety.     Proceed.' 

"''Tis  a  shameful  death,  for  the  hang 
man  is  a  sweeper, — some  brother  to  Bha- 
maraya,  perhaps/ 

"  '  Nevertheless,  proceed  ;  but  promise 
me  that  thou  wilt  trap  the  lame  witch  in 
some  pit  of  hell,  Ram  Deen.' 

"  '  Fret  not  thyself  on  that  score,  Bijoo  ; 
I  have  already  given  the  matter  thought. 
But  why  should  the  sircar  hang  thee  ? 
They — would — not — hang — a  dead  man  ;' 
and  I  flicked  a  branch  that  overhung  us 
with  my  whip. 

"'Thou  art  right,  Ram  Deen,'  he  said, 
quietly ;  '  but,  lo !  I  have  not  slept  for 
many  nights,  and  my  thought  is. not  clear.' 
He  then  stooped,  groping  in  the  bottom 
of  the  mail-cart,  and  drew  forth  one  of  the 
heel  ropes  of  the  horses. 

"Throwing  one  end  of  the  rope  over 
the  branch  that  was  above  us,  he  fastened 
it  thereto  with  a  running  loop,  and  then 
encircled  his  neck  with  a  noose  at  the 
other  end. 

"  As  he  stood  up  on  the  seat,  he  asked, 
105 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

'Thou  wilt  give  me  honorable  burning, 
Ram  Been?'  And  I  replied,  'I  will  be 
nearest  of  kin  to  thee  in  this  matter.' 

"  '  'Tis  well.  Thou  wilt  not  forget  thy 
reckoning  with  Bhamaraya  ?' 

"But  ere  I  could  make  reply,  the  gray 
wolf  that  hunts  beyond  the  bridge  bayed, 
and  the  horses  broke  from  me  in  their 
fear,  so  that  I  could  not  stay  them  till  we 
reached  the  Naini  Tal  road." 

"Yea,  brothers,"  said  the  hostler,  at 
whom  Ram  Deen  looked  for  confirmation 
of  this  part  of  his  story,  "I  had  scarce 
time  to  leap  to  one  side,  as  the  mail-cart 
sped  past  me  whilst  I  waited  on  the  bridge." 

More  he  would  have  said, — for  he  had 
never  before  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  speech 
at  the  Thanadar's  fire,  and  the  occasion  was 
epochal, — but  he  saw  in  Ram  Deen's  face 
that  which  made  him  whine  and  say,  "  But 
I  am  a  poor  man,  and  know  nothing,  and 
my  sight  is  dim  by  reason  of  sitting  over 
much  by  grass  fires, — only  Ram  Deen,  Ba- 
hadoor,  could  not  stay  the  horses,  though 
he  cursed  their  female  relatives  for  many 

generations,  and " 

106 


One  Thousand  Rupees  Reward 

"So,  Thanadar  ji,"  interrupted  Ram 
Deen,  "as  soon  as  I  could  restrain  the 
horses  I  turned  them  back,  and,  after  pick 
ing  up  the  hostler  (who,  because  he  is  more 
silent,  is  wiser  than  most  poor  men  who 
are  ever  talking  of  what  they  know  not),  I 
drove  to  the  huldoo  tree  where  hung  Bi- 
joo  as  dead  as  you  saw  him  but  now." 

Then,  after  a  pause,  he  said,  "  Brothers, 
let  it  be  told  in  the  Terai  that  Bijoo  came 
back  as  befitted  an  honorable  man." 


107 


CHAPTER   IX 

The  Rope  that  Hanged  Bijoo 


man-child  is  very  beautiful,  my 

A     lord,"  said  Tara. 

Ram  Deen  was  sitting  outside  of  his  hut 
on  a  charpoi,  whilst  Tara  rubbed  their 
month-old  babe  with  "bitter  oil"  in  the 
forenoon  sun. 

The  little  brown  manikin,  without  a 
stitch  on  him  to  conceal  God's  handiwork, 
sprawled  on  his  stomach  across  his  mother's 
knees,  making  inarticulate  noises,  and  wrig 
gling  after  the  manner  of  infants  when  it  is 
well  with  them,  for  the  sun  was  pleasantly 
warm,  and  his  mother's  rubbing  appealed 
to  his  budding  sensations. 

"  It  is  not  so  beautiful  as  its  beautiful 
mother,"  said  Ram  Deen. 

"Thou  Worthless!"  exclaimed  Tara. 
"Sawest  ever  such  hands?"  and  she  put 
a  finger  into  the  wee  palm  that  clasped  it 
by  "reflex  action." 

1  08 


The  Rope  that  Hanged  Bijoo 

"  Toba !  toba !"  swore  Ram  Deen.  "  Nana 
Debi  send  grace  to  evil-doers  in  the  Terai 
in  the  days  to  come,  or  else  shall  they  be 
undone  by  these  hands.  Why,  they  might 
almost  crush  a  fly  !" 

"  Nevertheless,  coach- wan  ji,  my  lord,  thy 
son  shall  be  taller  than  thou  when  he  is  a 
man  grown." 

"  Khoda  (God)  grant  it,  for  thy  son  must 
drive  the  mail-cart  in  the  time  to  come, 
and  the  Terai  is  full  of  dangers." 

"But  he  shall  not  drive  the  mail-cart," 
said  Tara  ;  "  he  shall  be  Thanadar  of  Kala- 
doongie,  and  he  shall  feed  his  father  and 
his  mother  when  his  beard  begins  to  sing 
on  a  scraping  palm.  Eh,  my  batcha?"  and 
the  young  mother,  after  the  manner  of 
young  mothers  the  world  over,  bent  her 
head  and  kissed  the  little  one's  dimples. 

"He  shall  be  rich,  too,  coach-wan  ji," 
said  a  tall  woman  with  a  beautiful  figure 
appearing  in  the  doorway  of  the  hut.  Her 
eyes  made  beholders  long  to  look  upon  the 
rest  of  her  face  ;  but  that  was  closely  veiled, 
for  it  was  horribly  mutilated. 

Her  voice  was  thick  and  muffled,  and  she 
109 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

spoke  with  difficulty.  It  was  the  unhappy 
Chandni. 

"  He  shall  be  rich,  if  a  thousand  rupees 
can  make  him  rich,  and  the  wishes  of  thy 
humble  servant.  Tulsi  Ram,  pundit,  hath 
this  day  indited  a  letter  for  me  to  Moti 
Ram,  the  great  mahajun  of  Naini  Tal, 
directing  him  to  hold  the  money,  that  was 
the  price  of  Bijoo,  for  thy  son  till  he  comes 
to  man's  estate." 

"Now,  nay,  Chandni,"  remonstrated 
Ram  Deen ;  "  I  am  richer  than  most  men  in 
the  Terai,  and,  through  the  advice  of  my 
friend,  the  Thanadar,  my  wealth  groweth 
apace,  and  my  son  shall  lack  nothing. 
Biroo,  too,  is  provided  for ;  thou  mayest 
need  the  money  thyself,  for  the  thread 
of  life  parts  easily  in  the  Terai,  as  thou 
knowest,  and  the  shelter  of  my  hut  may  be 
wanting  to  thee  some  day." 

"  Nevertheless,  my  lord  and  my  master, 
thy  lowly  handmaid  must  not  be  thwarted 
in  this  matter,"  and  Chandni  disappeared 
into  the  hut. 

"  Let  her  have  her  will,  my  lord,"  pleaded 
Tara ;  "we  owe  her  much,"  and  with  a 
no 


The  Rope  that  Hanged  Bijoo 

sweeping  gesture  she  indicated  the  garden 
in  which  they  sat  and  which  was  Chandni's 
special  care. 

The  enclosure  in  which  Ram  Deen's  hut 
stood  used  to  be,  ere  the  days  of  Tara  and 
Chandni,  the  most  neglected  spot  in  the 
village ;  but,  after  the  arrival  of  the  latter, 
it  gradually  began  to  assume  an  appearance 
of  neatness  and  thrift  that  made  Ram 
Deen's  home-coming  a  daily  delight  to  him. 

The  young  peepul  tree  in  front  of  the 
hut  was  aflame  with  a  gorgeous  Bougain- 
villea,  and  the  flower-beds  laughed  with 
marigolds  and  poppies  of  many  hues  sown 
broadcast.  A  little  runnel  sparkled  through 
the  garden,  and,  in  one  part  of  its  career, 
chattered  pleasantly  over  a  tiny  pebbly 
reach  artfully  contrived  to  produce  the 
"beauty  born  of  murmuring  sound,"  which 
is  nowhere  more  grateful  than  in  the  domain 
of  the  Hot  Wind. 

In  one  corner  of  the  garden  were  planted 
radishes,  and  turnips,  and  carrots,  with 
their  delightful  greenery.  Chili  plants  and 
Cape  gooseberries  abounded,  and  many  a 
potherb  pleasant  to  behold  and  good  in  a 


in 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

curry.  Every  plant  and  shrub  gave  evi 
dence  of  loving  care,  and  repaid  the  tilth 
bestowed  upon  them  with  lavish  inter 
est. 

A  little  machand  (dais)  of  plastered  mud, 
under  the  peepul  tree,  had  been  specially 
built  for  little  Biroo,  who  decorated  it,  after 
the  manner  of  the  small  boy,  with  bits  of 
gayly-tinted  glass  and  potsherds,  bright 
feathers  and  cowries,  and  such  other  gauds 
as  appeal  to  his  kind. 

In  another  corner  of  the  compound  was 
a  tiny  hut,  wherein  Heera  Lai,  Tara's  old 
grandfather,  lived  in  such  ease  and  affluence 
as  he  had  never  dreamed  of  in  his  wildest 
imaginings.  His  day  was  setting  in  scented 
clouds  of  sweetened  tobacco,  and  he  had 
tyre  to  eat  every  morning.  Every  week  he 
added  two  annas  (six  cents)  to  the  hoard 
under  his  hearth ;  it  was  saved  from  the 
allowance  made  to  him  by  Ram  Deen  ;  and 
he  owed  no  man  anything.  Moreover,  in 
Ram  Deen  he  had  found  one  who  could  be 
most  easily  overreached,  and  Ram  Deen 
delighted  to  be  swindled  by  the  old  man  in 
matters  involving  small  change. 


112 


The  Rope  that  Hanged  Bijoo 

Even  Hasteen  had  not  been  forgotten  in 
the  improvements  made  in  the  enclosure  : 
in  one  corner  a  small  space  had  been  care 
fully  lepoed  (plastered)  and  roofed  with 
thatch  for  him.  Farther  on,  Nathoo, 
Biroo's  kid,  was  tethered  to  a  stake ;  and 
beyond  that  the  fawn,  Ganda,  had  a  little 
paddock  to  herself. 

The  whole  compound  was  fenced  in  by 
a  flourishing  mandni  hedge,  which  gave 
Ram  Deen  a  fuller  sense  of  possession. 
As  he  sat  on  the  charpoi,  lazily  smoking  his 
hookah  and  drinking  in  the  beauty  of  the 
garden  and  of  the  day  beyond,  he  was  the 
happiest  man  in  all  the  Terai.  When  Tara 
had  finished  the  baby's  simple  toilet  and 
put  it  to  her  breast,  the  thought  passed 
through  Ram  Deen's  mind  that,  if  God 
ever  smiled,  it  must  be  when  He  looked 
on  a  young  mother  suckling  her  first-born. 

"Respect  the  aged  and  infirm,"  said  a 
whining  voice,  breaking  in  upon  Ram 
Deen's  pleasant  reverie.  The  speaker,  who 
stood  outside  the  hedge,  was  an  old  men 
dicant  equipped,  like  his  kind,  with  an 
alms-bowl  containing  a  handful  of  small 
8  113 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

copper  coin  and  cowries.  He  was  smeared 
with  wood  ashes,  and  his  tangled,  grizzly 
hair  hung  to  his  waist. 

"  Respect  the  aged  and  poor,  Ram 
Deen,  for  the  sake  of  the  beautiful  babe." 
(Tara  immediately  covered  it  with  her 
chudder  for  fear  of  the  evil  eye.)  "  Lis 
ten,  I  have  tidings  for  thee." 

"Speak,  swami,"  replied  the  driver, 
throwing  him  a  small  piece  of  silver. 

"  Bhamaraya,  the  lame  mehtrani,  cometh 
this  way.  She  is  on  the  road  on  the  hither 
side  of  Lai  Kooah,  in  a  covered  byli 
whereof  one  of  the  wheels  has  come  off. 
The  byl-wan  walked  into  Kaladoongie  with 
me  this  morning  to  seek  assistance,  leaving 
the  old  woman  on  the  road." 

"  'Tis  well,  jogi  ji.  Durga  will  doubtless 
protect  her  own.  Salaam,"  said  Ram  Deen, 
dismissing  the  mendicant 

The  time  had  come  for  the  fulfilment  of 
his  promise  to  Bijoo.  What  he  should  do 
when  he  came  across  the  mehtrani  who 
had  wrecked  Chandni's  life  would  doubt 
less  be  suggested  to  him  by  the  circum 
stances  of  the  place  and  the  hour,  but  for 
114 


The  Rope  that  Hanged  Bijoo 

the  present  he  was  satisfied  that  she  was 
completely  in  his  power. 

That  day  Chandni  was  absent  from  the 
mid-day  meal. 

The  Hot  Wind  blew  fiercely,  rattling  the 
leafless  branches  of  the  forest  trees.  The 
Bore  Nuddee,  below  the  head  of  the  canal 
that  supplied  Kaladoongie,  had  shrunk  to 
a  few  scattered  pools  that  became  shallower 
every  day. 

"  Nana  Debi  send  thy  kinswoman  is  in  a 
cool  shade  this  day,"  said  Ram  Deen,  ad 
dressing  Tara. 

"  She  hath  doubtless  gone  to  the  ford  of 
the  Bore  Nuddee  to  bleach  her  new  chud- 
der,"  explained  Tara. 

But  when  evening  came  and  Chandni 
had  not  returned,  the  driver  became 
alarmed.  After  he  had  made  his  prepara 
tions  for  taking  the  mail  to  Lai  Kooah  he 
joined  the  circle  in  front  of  the  Thanadar's 
hut. 

The  Hot  Wind  had  abated  its  fury  to  little 

puffs  that  came  at  intervals  and  seemed  to 

sear  the  skin,   and   the  sun   had  set  like 

a  copper  disk  in  the  haze  that  overhung 

115 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

the  western  sky.  As  the  hostler  brought 
the  mail-cart  round,  Ram  Deen  told  the 
Thanadar  of  Chandni's  absence,  and  re 
ceived  his  assurance  that  immediate  search 
should  be  made  for  her. 

As  they  spoke  together  a  little  puff  of 
wind  came  out  of  the  west,  laden  with  the 
smell  of  fire.  They  instinctively  turned 
their  faces  windwards.  The  glow  of  the 
setting  sun,  that  had  but  just  disappeared, 
seemed  to  be  returning  in  the  west  and 
illuminated  the  under  surface  of  a  huge 
black  cloud  that  was  growing  rapidly  in 
size. 

"The  jungle  through  which  thou  must 
drive  is  on  fire,  Ram  Deen,  and  thou  must 
make  haste  if  thou  wouldst  take  the  mail 
to  Lai  Kooah  to-night." 

"But  thou  must  not  go  to  Lai  Kooah 
to-night,"  said  little  Biroo,  running  up  to 
Ram  Deen.  "  Chandni  said  so  ere  she 
went  away  this  morning.  I  was  to  tell 
thee,  but  I  had  forgotten  till  I  saw  just  now 
the  money  she  gave  me  for  the  telling  of 
this  to  thee;"  and  opening  his  hand  he 
showed  the  men  a  rupee. 
116 


The  Rope  that  Hanged  Bijoo 

"Therefore  must  I  go,  Thanadar  ji," 
said  Ram  Been.  "Had  this  little  bud- 
mash  spoken  sooner  Chandni  had  been 
home  now,  and  not  on  a  quest  that  belongs 
properly  to  me.  Toba,  toba !"  he  ex 
claimed,  as  a  tongue  of  flame  shot  high 
into  the  air,  "  was  ever  such  fire  lit  for  the 
purification  of  the  jungle?  But  I  must 
make  haste  if  I  would  save  Chandni;"  and 
the  next  minute  Ram  Deen  was  speeding 
towards  the  Bore  bridge.  Two  miles  be 
yond  the  bridge  they  reached  the  hither 
end  of  the  fire,  which  was  now  being  driven 
furiously  by  a  storm  of  its  own  creation 
towards  the  road,  from  which  it  was  distant 
about  half  a  mile.  The  hostler  leaped  to 
the  ground,  refusing  to  go  any  farther ;  but 
the  element  of  danger  and  the  risk  to 
Chandni  only  stirred  Ram  Deen's  pulses 
into  activity,  and  he  shook  the  reins  and 
urged  his  horses  into  a  headlong  gallop. 

The  wild  things  of  the  Terai  fled  in 
front  of  the  fire  and  across  Ram  Deen's 
path,  heedless  of  the  presence  of  man,  who 
was  but  a  pygmy  to  the  wrath  behind  them. 
The  roar  of  the  giant  fire  put  a  great  stress 
117 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

upon  the  fleeing  animals,  so  that  they  were 
as  of  one  kin  in  the  presence  of  a  common 
danger.  A  herd  of  spotted  deer,  with  a 
leopard  in  their  very  midst,  dashed  across 
the  road  in  front  of  the  mail-cart.  A  wild 
boar  came  next  in  headlong  fashion. 
Jackals,  hares,  nyl-gai  followed  each  other 
pell-mell,  making  for  the  shelter  of  the  bed 
of  the  Bore  Nuddee,  whilst  overhead  was 
seen  the  flight  of  the  feathered  denizens  of 
the  Terai. 

All  this  confusion  and  rush  but  accented 
the  roar  of  the  pursuing  fire.  When  Ram 
Deen  looked  back  for  an  instant  he  saw 
that  it  had  leapt  across  the  road  at  a  point 
he  had  passed  but  a  minute  before ;  and 
now  he  knew  that  he  was  running  for  his 
life. 

A  quarter  of  a  mile  farther  on  the  road 
turned  to  the  left,  thus  increasing  his 
chance  of  reaching  the  southern  limit  of 
the  fire,  which  was  travelling  due  east.  By 
the  light  of  the  flames  he  could  see  a  tall 
woman  sitting  on  the  parapet  of  a  small 
culvert,  about  one  hundred  yards  in  front 
of  him.  On  the  edge  of  the  jungle  beside 
us 


The  Rope  that  Hanged  Bijoo 

her  was  an  overturned  byli,  and  from  it 
there  came  screams  that  could  be  dis 
tinguished  even  through  the  din  of  the 
fire. 

'  The  woman  on  the  culvert  saw  him  as 
soon  as  he  turned  the  bend  of  the  road, 
and  forthwith  mounted  the  parapet ;  and 
he  saw  it  was  Chandni.  As  the  mail-cart 
swept  past  her  she  sprang  towards  it,  and 
Ram  Been  passed  an  arm  round  her  and 
drew  her  on  to  the  seat  beside  him. 

"  For  the  love  of  God,  Chandni !  for  the 
love  of  God  !"  screamed  the  woman  in  the 
byli  as  a  burning  branch  fell  on  it.  But 
the  mail-cart  sped  away,  and  presently  only 
the  roar  of  the  angry  fire  could  be  heard. 

A  quarter  of  a  mile  farther  on  they  had 
passed  the  southern  edge  of  the  fire,  which 
was  within  fifty  yards  of  the  road  when 
they  reached  safety. 

"The  woman  in  the  byli?"  asked  Ram 
Been. 

"  Bhamaraya,"  was  the  quiet  reply. 

"And  why  came  she  not  forth  ?" 

"Because  of  the  rope  that  hanged 
Bijoo." 

119 


CHAPTER   X 

Non  Animum  Mutant 

r  I  ^HE  Commissioner  of  Kumaon  had 
-*-  arrived  at  Kaladoongie  in  the  course 
of  his  winter  tour  of  inspection,  and  the 
same  evening  Joti  Prshad,  his  butler,  sat 
beside  the  Thanadar  on  a  charpoi  and 
smoked  with  metropolitan  ease  amidst  the 
awe-struck  notables  of  the  jungle  vil 
lage. 

Ram  Been  alone  was  not  abashed,  and 
puffed  his  hookah  unconcernedly,  although 
Joti  Prshad  told  many  wonderful  things  of 
the  sahiblogue,  and  spoke  concerning  the 
doings  of  the  great  world  of  Naini  Tal 
during  the  greater  rains. 

Joti  Prshad  was  a  small  man,  and  Ram 
Deen's  blase  mood  galled  his  sense  of 
superiority  ;  it  was  but  right  that  he  should 
snub  this  exasperatingly  cool  villager. 

"Thanadar  ji,"  he  began,  "thou  and  I 
know  that  nowhere  in  Hindoostan  is  there 

120 


Coelum,  Non  Animum  Mutant 

such  greatness  assembled  as  at  Naini  Tal 
during  the  Greater  Barsat." 

"  Men  say  that  the  governor-general  still 
goeth  to  Simla,  but,  doubtless,  the  sirdar 
knoweth  best,"  said  Ram  Deen. 

"The  Lat-sahib,  indeed,  goeth  to  Simla, 
but  those  with  him  be  mere  karanis  (clerks), 
and  shopkeepers,  and  half-castes.  'Tis 
plain  thou  hast  not  seen  Naini  Tal,  coach- 
wan.  " 

"The  Terai  sufficeth  me,  Joti  Prshad." 

"They  say,"  piped  Goor  Dutt,  the  little 
bullock  driver,  "that  the  mem-sahibs  at 
Naini  Tal  bare  their  shoulders  and  bosoms 
and  dance  with  strange  men.  Toba, 
toba  I" 

This  being  an  indisputable  fact,  and  one 
to  which  Joti  Prshad  had  never  reconciled 
himself,  the  latter  did  not  speak,  and  the 
diversion  thus  made  by  the  byl-wan  was 
felt  by  all  to  be  in  Ram  Deen's  favor. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  silence  of  Joti 
Prshad,  Ram  Deen  went  on  :  "  The  people 
of  Naini  Tal  come  and  go,  but  the  children 
of  the  Terai  never  forget  their  mother. 
What  sayest  thou,  Thanadar  ji  ?" 

121 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

"Tis  even  so,  brothers,"  said  the  Than- 
adar,  with  the  gravity  of  one  who  is  in 
authority  and  under  the  stress  of  weighing 
his  words. 

As  they  evidently  waited  for  him  to  pro 
ceed,  the Thanadar continued  :  "The jungle 
is  our  father  and  our  mother,  and  the  hul- 
doo  trees  our  near  kin,  O  my  brothers  ;  and 
we  who  have  once  seen  the  beauty  of  the 
morning  in  the  jungle,  and  the  rye-fields 
laughing  in  the  clearings  in  the  winter,  may 
not  live  elsewhere." 

"Ay,  Thanadar  ji,"  said  Ram  Deen ; 
"and,  moreover,  the  senses  of  those  who 
live  in  bazaars  are  asleep  as  with  bhang, 
and  they  cannot  see  nor  hear  the  wonders 
of  God." 

A  general  "humph"  of  assent  followed 
Ram  Deen's  speech. 

"  If  the  sirdar  will  stay  with  us  we  will 
show  him  whereof  we  speak,"  said  the 
Thanadar.  But  the  butler  had  fond  recol 
lections  of  Oude  and  the  rose-fields  of 
Shahjahanpoor,  where  they  make  attar,  and 
shook  his  head  dissentingly.  So  the  Than 
adar  went  on  :  "  Many  seasons  since,  a  holy 

122 


Coelum,  Non  Animum  Mutant 

man — a  Sunyasi — who  had  given  up  his 
wife  and  children  and  lived  in  a  hollow 
tree  by  the  Rock  of  Khalsi  (whereon  are 
written  the  laws  of  the  great  king  Asoka) 
returned  to  Gurruckpoor,  his  native  village, 
when  he  felt  the  Great  Darkness  coming  on. 
He  told  the  village  Brahmin  that  he  longed 
for  death,  but  that  he  could  not  die  outside 
of  the  Terai." 

After  a  pause,  during  which  the  bubbling 
of  his  narghili  was  heard,  the  Thanadar 
said :  "  It  is  the  same  with  all  who  are 
born  in  the  Terai, — Faringi  and  Padhani, 
Brahmin  and  Dome,  Sunyasi  and  fair 
woman, — all  are  alike  in  bondage,  and  re 
turn,  sooner  or  later,  to  their  jungle  mother. 
Listen.  Twelve  years  ago  there  came  to 
Gurruckpoor  to  hunt  big  game  an  English 
man  named  Fisher  Sahib.  He  was  of 
those  favored  by  God  who  have  much 
wealth,  and  to  whom  sport  standeth  for 
occupation.  As  he  was  accustomed  to 
fulfil  his  heart's  desires,  he  hired  two 
shooting  elephants  from  the  Rajah  of  Ram- 
pore, — one  for  himself  and  the  other  for 
his  mem-sahib,  who  accompanied  him. 
123 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

And  he  had  a  great  camp,  and  many  ser 
vants,  and  beaters,  and  shikaris,  chief  of 
whom  was  Juggoo,  whose  fame  as  a  hunter 
reached  from  Phillibeet  to  Dehra.  He  it 
was  who  always  rode  with  the  sahib  in  his 
howdah,  and  he  had  command  from  the 
mem-sahib  never  to  leave  the  sahib's  side 
in  the  jungle,  in  that  he  was  rash  and 
loved  danger,  and  many  a  time  fell  into  it 
unawares  by  reason  that  he  saw  not  clearly 
except  he  looked  through  a  piece  of  glass 
that  he  wore  in  one  eye. 

"  One  day  the  sahib  had  shot  a  deer,  and 
let  himself  down  from  his  elephant — Juggoo 
going  with  him — to  give  it  hallal,  according 
to  the  rule  of  the  Koran, — for  he  intended 
the  deer  as  a  gift  to  the  Mussulmanis  in  his 
camp.  As  he  bent  over  the  deer  to  cut  its 
throat  with  his  khookri,  a  great  boar  ran 
upon  them  from  a  thicket.  Juggoo  uttered 
a  cry  of  warning,  but  ere  the  sahib  could 
find  his  sight  the  boar  was  upon  them,  and 
Juggoo  thrust  himself  in  its  way  and  got 
his  death,  or  the  sahib  had  been  killed. 

"  So  they  carried  the  dead  man  to  the 
camp,  where  his  daughter,  Chambeli,  having 
124 


Coelum,  Non  Animum  Mutant 

cooked  his  evening  meal,  awaited  the  re 
turn  of  her  father.  She  was  fifteen  years 
in  age,  and  a  widow, — for  her  betrothed 
husband  and  all  his  people  had  died  five 
years  before  of  The  Sickness  (small-pox)  ; 
so  she  had  returned  to  her  father,  and  had 
cared  for  his  house  ever  since.  And  Kali 
Dass,  who  was  learning  jungle-craft  from 
her  father,  would  have  had  her  to  mistress. 
'  Come  and  live  with  me,  my  beloved, 
beyond  the  head-waters  of  the  Bore  Nud- 
dee,'  he  had  pleaded  ;  '  and  when  thy  hair 
hath  grown  again  none  shall  know  thou  art 
a  widow,  and  the  people  of  the  foot-hills 
shall  wonder  at  thy  beauty.' 

"< But  /shall  know  and  Nana  Debi, — 
and  the  others  matter  not,  Kali  Dass"  she 
replied  firmly. 

"  So  Kali  Dass  went  his  way  ;  and  the 
young  man  and  Chambeli  looked  at  each 
other,  but  spake  no  more  together. 

"The  mem-sahib  it  was  who  told  Cham 
beli  of  her  father's  death,  Kali  Dass  stand 
ing  by,  and  she  turned  on  him  like  a  leop 
ard  bereft  of  its  young  and  upbraided  him, 
saying,  '  Hadst  thou  been  a  man,  Kali 
125 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

Dass,  my  father  were  still  living.'  There 
after  she  swooned,  and  the  mem-sahib  laid 
her  on  her  own  couch,  and  held  her  in  her 
arms  and  comforted  her,  because  Juggoo 
had  died  to  save  the  sahib. 

"Then,  for  that  she  was  childless  and 
very  wealthy,  and  could  do  whatsoever 
seemed  good  in  her  eyes,  the  mem-sahib 
took  Chambeli  across  the  Black  Water. 
They  brought  her  up  as  their  own  kin, 
teaching  her  whatsoever  it  is  fitting  the 
daughter  of  a  Faringi  should  know,  and 
training  her  to  work  amongst  our  women 
and  children  when  they  should  be  afflicted 
with  sickness  ;  and,  furthermore,  she  was  to 
turn  them  from  Nana  Debi  to  the  God  of 
the  Faringis. 

"  Moreover,  to  aid  her  in  her  work,  she 
was  married  to  a  young  English  padre  ;  and 
they  came  to  Kaladoongie  six  years  ago, 
when  the  next  new-year  festival  of  the 
Faringis  shall  arrive.  And  because  we 
knew  her  and  still  remembered  Juggoo,  her 
father,  we  of  Kaladoongie  waited  on  her  at 
the  dak-bungalow  on  the  day  she  returned. 

"  She  came  out  to  us  on  the  veranda, 
126 


Coelum,  Non  Animum  Mutant 

dressed  in  the  garments  of  a  mem-sahib, 
and  we  saw  that  she  was  a  woman  grown 
and  in  the  mid-noon  of  her  beauty.  She 
was  glad  to  see  us,  calling  us  all  by  our 
names,  and  we  greeted  her  with  such 
gifts  as  we  could, — fruit  and  flowers  and 
sweetmeats.  Last  of  all  came  Kali  Dass, 
and  behind  him  four  men  bearing  a  leopard 
but  newly  slain,  slung  from  a  pole. 

"They  laid  the  beast  at  her  feet,  and 
Chambeli  laughed  and  clapped  her  hands 
till  the  little  padre,  her  husband,  frowned 
at  her  ;  whereon  her  nostrils  twitched  and 
she  looked  at  him  in  wonderment,  as  though 
she  saw  for  the  first  time  that  he  was  a 
small  man  with  a  pale  face,  and  void  of 
authority. 

"  Then  turning  to  Kali  Dass  she  said  in 
our  Terai  tongue,  *  Is  it  well  with  thee, 
shikari  ji  ?  Thou  art  doubtless  married 
and  happy?' 

"And  he  said,  'Nay ;  I  have  no  spouse, 
save  only  my  jungle -craft.' 

" '  And  the  jungle  ?'  she  asked,  looking 
on  the  ground. 

"  '  It  is  my  father  and  my  mother,  and 
127 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

fairer  than  any  of  its  daughters,  mem-sahib. 
But  thou  hast  been  in  great  cities,  and 
across  the  Black  Water ;  thou  hast  read  in 
books,  and  hast  changed  thy  gods, — what 
shouldst  thou  care  for  the  jungle  ?' 

"'It  is  the  garden  of  God,  Kali  Dass, 
and  I  am  fain  to  see  it  again,  for  I  am  a 
Padhani  born,  and  a  daughter  of  the  Terai.' 

"  Ere  she  gave  us  leave  to  depart  it  was 
arranged  that  she  and  the  padre  sahib,  ac 
companied  by  me  and  Kali  Dass,  should 
start  in  the  early  morning  and  follow  the 
Bore  Nuddee  backward  into  the  foothills. 

"  Kali  Dass  was  at  the  dak-bungalow 
before  me  in  the  morning ;  and  he  was 
dressed  in  holiday  clothes  ;  his  face  shone, 
and  behind  one  ear  he  had  placed  a  mari 
gold. 

"When  the  padre  and  his  mem-sahib 
came  forth  from  their  chamber,  behold  ! 
she  was  dressed  as  a  Padhani ;  and  she 
was  the  Chambeli  we  knew  of  old,  only 
taller. 

"  '  I  am  but  a  Padhani/  she  explained, 
'and  shall  get  nearer  to   my  people  the 
more  I  am  like  to  them.' 
128 


Coelum,  Non  Animum  Mutant 

"It  was  a  time  of  great  stillness  when 
we  started,  for  the  morning  was  just  born, 
and  the  dew  lay  on  all  things.  Taking  the 
road  to  Naini  Tal,  we  struck  into  the 
jungle  when  we  came  to  the  path  that 
leads  to  the  ford  of  the  Bore  Nuddee, 
and  Chambeli  alighted  from  her  pony  and 
walked  in  front  of  the  rest  with  Kali  Dass. 
A  faint  flush  showed  in  the  east,  and 
presently  a  jungle-cock  greeted  the  dawn. 
Chambeli  stopped,  and,  with  joy  in  her 
face,  she  turned  round  to  the  padre  sahib, 
exclaiming,  'Didst  hear  that?'  And  he 
laughed,  saying,  '  It  was  but  the  crowing 
of  a  cock.' 

"  '  But  it  came  out  of  the  stillness  of 
the  morning,  and  the  dew  accorded  with 
it, — and  it  was  a  wild  thing, — but  how 
shouldst  thou  understand?  thou  art  not 
of  the  Terai,'  she  said. 

"Soon  the  glow  in  the  east  became 
brighter,  and  the  jungle  burst  into  its 
morning  song.  Chambeli  stopped  and 
put  her  hands  to  her  forehead,  as  if  she 
would  remember  something  ;  then  she  said 
to  the  shikari,  '  Something  is  lacking,  Kali 
9  129 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

Dass  ;  what  is  it  ?'  And  even  as  she  spake 
there  came  the  call  of  a  black  partridge 
from  a  thicket  near  by :  '  Sobhan  teri 
koodruth !'  Brothers,  ye  know  that  the 
black  partridge  is  the  priest  of  the  Terai, 
and  at  its  voice  Chambeli  fled  with  a  cry 
of  joy  from  the  path  and  into  the  thick 
jungle. 

"The  little  padre  sahib,  knowing  not 
what  to  think,  urged  us  to  follow  her. 
When  we  came  up  with  her,  Kali  Dass 
stood  by  regarding  her  with  a  smile,  whilst 
she  lay  on  the  ground  with  her  face  buried 
in  the  dewy  grass,  moaning  and  saying, 
'O  Jungle  Mother,  I  will  never  leave  thee 
again,  I  will  never  leave  thee  again  !'  And 
the  little  padre  chid  her  in  his  own  tongue  ; 
whereat  she  rose  shuddering  ;  and  brushing 
the  dew  and  the  tears  from  her  face,  she 
returned  to  the  path. 

"She  had  eyes  and  ears  for  everything 
that  morning,  and  was  as  a  wild  thing  that 
had  just  fled  from  captivity. 

"When  we  came  to  the  brow  of  the  hill 
that  slopes  down  to  the  ford,  the  sun  rose 
over  the  tops  of  the  trees  and  laid  a  gleam- 
130 


Ccelum,  Non  Animum  Mutant 

ing  sword  across  the  stream  ;  and  as  we 
looked  at  the  brightness  and  wonder  of  it 
all  there  came  to  us  the  song  of  a  string 
of  Padhani  women  approaching  the  ford. 
In  an  instant  Chambeli  took  up  the  song, 
and  set  off  swiftly  down  the  narrow  path, 
we  following  as  we  could. 

"As  she  neared  the  ford  she  lifted  her 
sari  and  took  the  water  with  her  bare 
limbs ;  and  I  looked  at  the  little  padre, 
who  seemed  sore  amazed. 

"When  we  had  all  crossed  the  ford, 
Chambeli  and  Kali  Dass  were  not  to  be 
seen  on  the  road  that  ran  by  the  stream. 
A  traveller  on  his  way  to  Kaladoongie  said 
he  had  not  met  them,  and  as  we  questioned 
him  there  came  the  report  of  a  gun. 

" '  Kali  Dass  hath  met  game,  padre 
sahib/  said  I. 

"  '  Find  them,  and  bring  them  back  in 
stantly,  Thanadar,'  commanded  the  holy 
man,  and  his  voice  shook  with  anger. 

"  Following  the  direction  of  the  shot, 
I  came  upon  their  tracks,  and  thereafter 
I  found  a  handful  of  fresh  feathers.  A 
few  paces  beyond  lay  a  small  book  ;  it  was 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

the  sacred  book  of  the  Faringis  printed  in 
Nagari,  and  on  the  first  leaf,  which  was 
held  down  by  a  stone,  was  writing  in  Eng 
lish.  On  the  path  a  pace  farther  were  two 
sticks  crossed,  and  beyond  that  other  two  ; 
and  I  knew  it  was  the  warning  of  Kali 
Dass,  who  must  not  be  followed. 

"So  I  returned  with  the  little  book  to 
the  padre  sahib.  And  when  he  had  read 
what  was  written  on  the  first  leaf  he  trem 
bled  and  clutched  at  his  throat,  and  I 
caught  him  in  my  arms  as  he  fell  from  his 
horse. 

"  I  returned  with  him  to  Kaladoongie  ; 
but  Chambeli  and  Kali  Dass  never  came 
back. 

"I  showed  the  writing  in  the  book  to 
Tulsi  Ram.  Speak,  pundit,  and  tell  our 
brothers  what  it  meant." 

Tulsi  Ram,  pleased  and  proud  to  give 
an  exhibition  of  his  scholarship,  replied, 
"Brothers,  and  you,  O  Joti  Prshad,  the 
writing  said  :  '  Like  to  like  :  Kali  Dass  is 
of  my  blood,  and  the  great  jungle  hath 
claimed  her  daughter  this  day,'  " 


132 


CHAPTER   XI 

The  Lame  Tiger  of  Huldwani 

IT  was  in  the  middle  of  May — just  before 
the  beginning  of  the  lesser  rains — that 
Ram  Been  and  certain  wayfarers  sat  round 
a  handful  of  fire  at  Lai  Kooah  from  mere 
force  of  habit,  for  the  heat  of  the  evening 
was  great,  and  not  a  breath  of  air  stirred 
in  the  jungle.  The  sal  trees  had  lost  their 
leaves  and  looked  like  ghosts  ;  the  grass 
had  been  burnt  in  all  directions ;  and  as  the 
sun  set  in  the  copper  sky,  it  lit  up  a  land 
scape  that  might  have  stood  for  the  "  abomi 
nation  of  desolation." 

The  dry  chirping  of  the  crickets,  just 
beginning  to  tune  their  first  uneasy  strains, 
accorded  with  the  unholy  scene.  Even 
the  horses  waiting  for  the  mail-cart  were 
imbued  with  the  depressing  influence  of 
the  season,  and  hung  their  heads  with  a 
sense  of  despair,  as  though  they  thought 
the  blessed  monsoon  would  never  set  in. 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

No  one  spoke,  and  the  hookah  passed 
from  hand  to  hand  in  a  dreary  silence. 
Suddenly,  the  attention  of  those  assembled 
was  attracted  by  the  curious  action  of  a 
bya  (tailor)  bird  in  a  neighboring  mimosa, 
tree.  It  was  calling  frantically,  and  drop 
ping  lower  from  bough  to  bough,  as  though 
against  its  will. 

"Nag!"  exclaimed  the  bunnia ;  and, 
directed  by  his  remark,  all  eyes  were 
turned  to  the  foot  of  the  tree,  where  an 
enormous  cobra  with  expanded  hood  was 
swaying  its  head  from  side  to  side,  and 
drawing  the  wretched  bird  to  its  doom 
through  the  fascination  of  fear. 

Ram  Deen,  whose  sympathies  were 
always  with  the  weak  and  defenceless,  rose 
to  his  feet,  and,  throwing  a  dry  clod  of 
earth  at  the  reptile,  drove  the  creature  from 
the  tree ;  whilst  the  bird,  released  from  its 
hypnotic  influence,  flew  away. 

"  Brothers,"  said  Ram  Deen,  "fear  is  the 
father  of  all  sins,  and  the  cause  of  most  calam 
ities.  He  who  feareth  not  death  is  a  king  in 
his  own  right,  and  dieth  but  once ;  but  a  cow 
ard — shabash  !  who  can  count  his  pangs  ?  " 


The  Lame  Tiger  of  Huldwani 

"Ho!  ho!"  chuckled  the  little  bullock 
driver ;  "  Ram  Deen,  The  Fearless,  shall 
live  to  be  an  hundred  years  old." 

"Nay,  Goor  Dutt,"  said  Ram  Deen, 
gravely  regarding  the  little  man,  "  I,  too, 
have  known  fear.  No  man  may  drive  the 
mail  to  Kaladoongie  without  looking  on 
death." 

Ram  Deen  smoked  awhile  in  silence  ; 
and,  when  the  expectation  of  his  listeners 
was  wrought  to  a  proper  pitch,  he  went 
on  :  "Ye  all  knew  Nandha,  the  hostler,  who 
used  to  go  with  me  last  year  from  this 
stage  to  Kaladoongie  ?  " 

"Ay,  coach- wan  ji,"  responded  the  car 
rier  for  the  others.  "  'Tis  a  great  telling, 
but  not  known  to  these  honorable  way 
farers  who  come  from  beyond  Moradabad." 

"  Brothers,  ye  saw  the  plight  of  the  bya 
bird  but  now  ;  so  was  it  with  Nandha," 
said  Ram  Deen. 

"One  evening,  ere  the  mail  arrived,  he 
called  me  to  where  he  stood  by  the  kikar 
tree  yonder,  looking  down  at  the  ground. 
In  the  dust  of  the  road  were  large  foot 
prints. 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

"  '  These  be  the  spoor  of  a  tiger  lame  in 
its  left  hind  foot,'  I  said  to  Nandha ;  'see, 
here  it  crouched  on  its  belly,  and  wiped 
away  the  wheel  tracks  made  by  the  mail- 
cart  this  morning.' 

" '  'Tis  the  lame  tiger  of  Huldwani, 
coach-wan  ;  he  is  old,  and  he  hunteth  man. 
Gunga  send  he  is  hunting  elsewhere  to 
night  ! '  replied  Nandha. 

"When  we  came  within  a  mile  of  the 
Bore  bridge  that  night,  the  horses  stopped 
suddenly ;  they  were  wild  with  fear,  and 
refused  to  move.  The  night  was  as  dark 
as  the  inside  of  a  gourd,  and  beyond  the 
circle  of  light  made  by  our  lanterns  we 
could  discern  in  the  middle  of  the  road 
two  balls  of  fire  close  to  the  ground. 

"'Bag!  (tiger),'  said  Nandha,  as  he 
climbed  over  into  the  back  seat ;  ( we  be 
dead  men,  Ram  Deen.' 

"  'Blow  !'  I  commanded,  giving  him  the 
bugle  ;  and  as  he  startled  the  jungle  with  a 
blast,  I  gathered  up  the  reins,  and,  adding 
my  voice  to  the  terrors  of  Nandha's  music, 
I  urged  the  horses  with  whip  and  yell  to  a 
fury  of  speed  ;  and  the  light  of  the  lan- 
136 


The  Lame  Tiger  of  Huldwani 

terns  showed  the  great  beast  leaping  into 
the  darkness  to  escape  our  onset. 

"Nandha  ceased  not  from  blowing  on 
the  bugle  till  I  took  it  from  him  by  force  at 
the  door  of  the  post-office  at  Kaladoongie. 

"They  gave  him  bhang  to  smoke  and 
arrack  to  drink  ere  he  slept  that  night,  for 
his  great  fear  had  deprived  him  of  reason 
for  awhile  ;  and  he  looked  round  him  as 
though  he  expected  to  see  the  tiger's  eyes 
everywhere. 

"  'The  bag  followed  me  to  the  hither 
side  of  the  Bore  bridge,'  he  said  to  me 
next  morning,  as  we  prepared  to  return  to 
Lai  Kooah.  But  I  laughed  at  his  fears,  to 
give  him  courage. 

"'It  is  a  devil,'  he  whispered,  looking 
cautiously  round  him,  and  I  saw  that  the 
light  of  his  reason  flickered. 

"When  we  came  to  the  Bore  bridge, 
Nandha  leaped  to  the  ground,  and  in  the 
dim  light  of  the  morning  I  could  see  the 
tracks  of  a  great  beast  on  the  ground,  to 
which  he  pointed ;  and,  even  as  we  looked, 
there  came  the  roar  of  a  tiger.  I  could 
scarce  hold  the  horses  whilst  Nandha, 
137 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

whose  limbs  were  stiff  with  fear,  scrambled 
into  the  back  seat  of  the  mail-cart. 

"When  a  tiger  puts  its  mouth  to  the 
ground  and  gives  voice,  no  man  may  tell 
whence  the  sound  comes  ;  so  I  stayed  not 
to  see,  if  I  might,  where  the  danger  lay,  but 
gave  the  horses  free  rein. 

"As  we  cleared  the  end  of  the  bridge, 
Nandha  screamed,  '  Bag,  bag  !'  and  glanc 
ing  back,  I  saw  the  tiger  in  full  pursuit  of 
us,  and  within  a  hundred  paces. 

"  '  Blow  !'  I  commanded,  handing  the 
bugle  to  Nandha ;  but,  though  he  took  it 
from  me,  he  appeared  not  to  understand 
what  he  was  required  to  do. 

"  '  Blow  !'  said  I,  once  more,  shaking  him ; 
but  he  took  no  heed  of  me,  and  was  as  a 
man  who  walks  in  his  sleep.  So  I  put  my 
arm  round  him  and  lifted  him  on  to  the 
front  seat  beside  me  ;  and  even  as  I  pulled 
him  to  me,  his  head  was  drawn  over  his 
shoulder  by  the  spell  of  fear.  There  was 
a  foam  on  his  lips  and  on  his  beard,  and  he 
shook  so  that  I  feared  he  would  fall  off  the 
mail-cart. 

"'  Be  brave,  Nandha/  I  shouted  to  him, 
138 


The  Lame  Tiger  of  Huldwani 

'  the  beast  is  lame,  and  we  shall  soon  leave 
it  behind.'  For  answer,  he  turned  his  face 
to  me  for  one  instant,  and  his  lips  framed 
the  word  '  bag,'  but  no  sound  came  there 
from. 

"  Suddenly,  he  laughed  like  a  child  that 
is  pleased  with  a  toy,  babbling,  and  saying, 
'  How  beautiful  is  my  lord  !  Soft  be  the 
road  to  his  feet !  But,  look !  my  lord 
limpeth  ;  belike  he  hath  a  thorn  in  his  foot.' 
As  he  rose,  I  put  an  arm  round  him  and 
forced  him  down  again  ;  and  at  that  instant 
the  tiger  uttered  another  roar.  The  horses 
swerved,  and  would  have  left  the  road  in 
their  fear,  had  I  not  put  forth  the  full 
strength  of  both  my  arms ;  and  as  soon  as 
Nandha  felt  himself  free,  he  leaped  to  the 
ground,  and  advanced  towards  the  tiger. 
He  walked  joyously,  as  a  loyal  servant  who 
goeth  to  meet  his  lord. 

"  Looking  over  my  shoulder  (for  now 
the  horses  were  in  the  middle  of  the  road, 
which  here  stretched  straight  ahead  of  us), 
I  beheld  Nandha  proceed  towards  the  tiger, 
which  now  crouched  in  the  road,  waiting 
for  him,  its  tail  waving  from  side  to  side. 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

When  he  was  within  five  paces  of  the  beast, 
he  salaamed  to  the  ground,  and  as  he 
stooped  the  tiger  sprang  on  him  with 
another  roar,  and  throwing  him  over  its 
shoulder  it  bounded  with  him  into  the 
jungle. 

"  More  there  is  to  tell  concerning  the 
lame  tiger  of  Huldwani,  but  here  is  the 
mail-cart,  and  here  is  that  which  had  saved 
Nandha's  life  had  I  not  also  looked  upon 
fear  that  morning." 

Putting  the  bugle  to  his  mouth,  Ram 
Been  blew  a  blast  that  would  have  routed 
any  jungle  creature  within  hearing,  and 
which  made  the  leaves  of  the  peepul  tree 
overhead  rattle  as  he  dashed  away  on  the 
mail-cart. 


140 


CHAPTER   XII 

How  Nandha  was  Avenged 

THE  travellers  from  beyond  Moradabad 
having  reached  Kaladoongie,  were 
discovered  to  be  men  of  consequence  by 
the  Thanadar,  and  were  invited  by  him  to 
join  the  circle  of  the  great  round  his  fire 
on  the  evening  of  their  arrival. 

It  was  very  warm,  and  the  dismal  silence 
was  only  accented  by  the  distant  howl  of 
a  lonely  jackal.  The  sheet  lightning  flick 
ered  fitfully  over  the  foothills,  mocking  the 
gasping  Terai  with  its  faint  promise  of  a 
coming  change. 

The  conversation  round  the  fire  flagged, 
and  the  hookah  passed  languidly  from  hand 
to  hand.  Those  present  would  have  re 
tired  to  sleep,  had  sleep  been  possible  ;  but 
as  that  was  a  consummation  not  easily  at 
tained  at  this  season  of  the  year,  they  pre 
ferred  their  present  miseries  to  those  that 
141 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

come  in  the  wakeful  night  watches  when 
the  Terai  is  athirst. 

Ram  Deen's  arrival  was  a  nightly  boon 
to  those  who  were  wont  to  assemble  round 
the  Thanadar's  fire  ;  there  was  always  the 
possibility  of  his  having  news  ;  and,  besides, 
men  seemed  to  acquire  fresh  vitality  from 
contact  with  his  vigorous  personality. 

The  strangers  were  especially  grateful 
for  his  arrival;  and  when  he  had  taken  his 
usual  place  beside  the  fire,  the  hookah  was 
at  once  passed  to  him. 

"Any  tidings,  coach-wan  ji?"  inquired 
the  Thanadar. 

"  None,  sahib ;  save  that  the  great  frog 
in  the  well  at  Lai  Kooah — who  is  as  old  as 
the  well,  and  wiser  than  most  men — gave 
voice  just  ere  I  started,  and  the  bunnia 
said  it  was  a  sure  sign  of  rain  within  two 
days,  as  the  frog's  warning  had  never  been 
known  to  fail." 

"  Nana  Debi  send  it  be  so,"  exclaimed 
the  little  carrier,  "for  my  bullocks  be 
starved  for  the  lack  of  green  food,  and 
bhoosa  (chaff)  is  past  my  means." 

"Thou  shouldst  not  complain,  Goor 
142 


How  Nandha  was  Avenged 

Dutt,"  said  Ram  Deen,  with  a  smile ; 
"  their  very  leanness  is  thy  passport  through 
the  jungle.  Fatter  kine  had  been  de 
voured,  and  their  driver  with  them,  long 
ere  this." 

Hint  of  danger  that  might  be  en 
countered  in  the  jungle  having  been  thus 
given,  one  of  the  strangers  was  moved  to 
ask  concerning  the  lame  tiger  of  Huldwani, 
part  of  whose  biography  they  had  heard 
from  Ram  Deen  at  Lai  Kooah  on  the  pre 
vious  day. 

"  Coach-wan  ji,  wast  thou  not  afraid  to 
carry  the  mail  after  the  slaying  of  thy 
hostler,  Nandha?" 

"Those  who  carry  the  Queen's  mail  may 
not  stop  for  fear.  Nevertheless,  fear  rode 
with  me  a  day  and  a  night  after  the  death 
of  Nandha." 

"  It  is  a  great  telling,"  said  the  little  car 
rier,  nodding  at  the  wayfarers,  whilst  Ram 
Deen  "drank  tobacco." 

When  Ram  Deen  had  passed  the  hookah 
to  his  neighbor,  he  went  on  : 

"  Brothers,  on  the  day  that  Nandha  was 
carried  off  by  the  tiger,  I  sent  word  to  the 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

postmaster  of  Naini  Tal  concerning  the 
killing,  and  the  out-going  mail  brought  me 
word  that  the  sircar  (government)  would 
send  me  help. 

"Ye  know  that  a  tiger  kills  not  two  days 
in  succession  ;  so  I  had  no  fear  when  I 
traversed  the  road  to  and  from  Lai  Kooah 
till  the  second  day  after  the  slaying  of 
Nandha.  Ere  I  started  on  that  morning, 
the  munshi  told  me  to  drive  to  the  dak- 
bungalow  for  a  sahib  who  had  been  sent 
to  slay  the  slayer  of  men. 

"Brothers,  when  I  went  to  the  dak- 
bungalow,  there  came  forth  to  me  a  man- 
child — a  Faringi — whose  chin  was  as 
smooth  as  the  palm  of  my  hand. 

"  I  would  have  laughed,  but  that  I  thought 
of  the  tiger  that,  I  knew,  would  be  waiting 
for  us  ;  and  taking  pity  on  him,  I  said,  '  The 
jungle  hereabout  is  full  of  wild  fowl,  sahib, 
an  'twere  pity,  when  shikar  is  so  plentiful, 
you  should  waste  the  morning  looking  for 
a  budmash  tiger  who  will  not  come  forth 
for  two  days  as  yet.' 

"  He  answered  me  never  a  word,  but  went 
into  the  dak-bungalow  for  something  he 
144 


How  Nandha  was  Avenged 

had  forgotten  ;  and,  whilst  he  was  gone,  his 
butler  spake  to  me,  saying,  '  Coach-wan, 
make  no  mistake  ;  thy  life  depends  upon 
thy  doing  the  sahib's  bidding.  He  is  a 
very  Rustum,  and  he  knoweth  not  fear, 
for  all  he  is  so  young.' 

"  '  He  is  a  man  after  my  own  heart  then, 
sirdar ;  but,  mashallah  !  I  would  he  had  a 
beard,'  I  replied. 

"  Presently  the  young  sahib  came  forth 
with  an  empty  bottle  in  one  hand  and  his 
gun  in  the  other.  Throwing  the  bottle 
into  the  air,  he  shattered  it  with  a  bullet 
ere  it  reached  the  ground.  Startled  by 
the  report,  a  jackal  fled  from  the  rear  of 
the  cook-house  towards  the  jungle,  and  the 
sahib  stopped  its  flight  with  another  bullet. 
Then,  replenishing  his  gun,  he  took  his 
seat  beside  me  on  the  mail-cart,  saying 
'Blow  on  thy  bugle,  coach- wan,  and  an 
nounce  our  coming  to  Shere  Bahadoor,  His 
Majesty  the  Tiger.' 

"  It  was  a  brave  jawan  (youth),  brothers  ; 
but  he  was  very  young,  and,  belike,  he  had 
a  mother ;  so  I  swore  in  my  beard  to  save 
him,  whatever  might  befall. 
10  145 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

"As  we  proceeded,  he  questioned  me 
concerning  the  killing  of  Nandha,  speak 
ing  lightly,  as  one  who  goeth  to  shoot 
black  partridge. 

"  '  He  is  lame,  coach-wan,  and  will  doubt 
less  be  waiting  for  us  by  the  Bore  bridge/ 
said  the  sahib.  'As  soon  as  he  appears, 
stay  the  horses  for  an  instant  whilst  I  get 
off  the  mail-cart,  and  then  return  when 
your  horses  will  let  you.' 

"  *  Bethink  thee,  sahib,'  I  answered  ;  '  the 
Lame  One  of  Huldwani  is  old  and  cunning; 
it  is  no  fawn  thou  seekest  this  morning. 
Perchance  the  sircar  will  dispatch  some 
great  shikari  to  help  thee  in  this  hunting. 
Gunga  send  we  may  not  meet  the  tiger ; 
but  if  we  should,  shame  befall  me  if  I 
permit  thee  to  leave  the  mail-cart  whilst 
the  horses  are  able  to  run  !' 

"  For  answer,  my  brothers,  the  sahib 
flushed  red,  and,  calling  me  coward,  he 
drave  his  elbow  into  my  stomach  with 
such  force  that  the  reins  fell  from  my 
hands.  Taking  them  up,  the  while  I 
fought  for  my  breath,  he  turned  the  horses 
round,  saying,  'A  jackal  may  not  hunt  a 
146 


How  Nandha  was  Avenged 

tiger !  I  have  need  of  a  man  with  me 
this  morning,  and  Goor  Been,  my  butler, 
shall  take  thy  place.' 

"  'The  sahib,  being  a  man,  will  not 
blacken  my  face  in  the  eyes  of  Kaladoon- 
gie,'  I  said.  '  I  spake  for  thy  sake,  sahib  ; 
but  I  will  drive  thee  to  Jehandum  an'  thou 
wilt, — for  no  man  hath  ever  called  me 
coward  before.' 

"  Then  the  sahib  looked  in  my  face,  as  I 
tucked  the  ends  of  my  beard  under  my 
puggri ;  and  seeing  that  my  eyes  met  his 
four-square,  he  gave  up  the  reins  to  me, 
saying,  *  If  thou  playest  me  false  I  will 
kill  thee  like  a  dog ;'  and  he  showed  me 
the  hilt  of  a  pistol  that  he  had  in  his 
pocket. 

"  We  spake  no  more  together,  but  when 
we  came  to  the  Bore  bridge  I  shook  the 
jungle  with  a  blast  from  my  bugle. 

"  '  Shabash  !  coach-wan,'  exclaimed  the 
sahib  ;  *  thou  art  a  man,  indeed,  and  shalt 
have  Shere  Bahadoor's  skin  as  recom 
pense  for  the  hurt  to  thy  stomach.  Bid 
him  come  again.' 

"  Half  a  mile  beyond  the  bridge,  as  we 
147 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

sped  along  the  level  road  above  the  river, 
I  again  blew  upon  the  bugle.  The  sound 
had  scarcely  ceased,  when  we  heard  the 
angry  roar  of  a  charging  tiger. 

"  '  Stop  !'  exclaimed  the  sahib ;  and  I 
threw  the  frightened  horses  on  their 
haunches,  whilst  he  leaped  to  the  ground. 

"Then,  whilst  the  horses  flew  along  the 
road,  I  looked  back  over  my  shoulder  and 
beheld  the  Lame  One  bound  into  the  middle 
of  the  road  ;  and  the  sahib  blew  on  his  fin 
gers,  as  one  would  whistle  to  a  dog.  The 
great  beast  stopped  on  the  instant  and 
crouched  on  the  ground,  ready  to  spring 
on  the  sahib  as  he  advanced  towards  it, 
and  I  prayed  to  Nana  Debi  to  befriend 
the  young  fool. 

"When  he  was  within  thirty  paces  or 
so  from  the  tiger,  the  sahib  halted  and 
brought  the  gun  to  his  shoulder.  The 
next  instant  there  was  the  crack  of  a  rifle, 
and  the  Lame  One  leaped  straight  into  the 
air. 

"  I  knew  the  tiger  was  dead  ;  and  im 
mediately  thereafter  the  mail-cart  ran  into 
a  bank  and  spilled  me  on  the  road. 
148 


How  Nandha  was  Avenged 

Leaving  the  stunned  horses  tied  to  a  tree, 
I  proceeded  to  seek  the  sahib. 

"Wah  ji,  wah  !  brothers,  we  must  pay 
taxes  to  the  Faringis  until  we  can  raise 
sons  like  theirs.  When  I  joined  the  boy 
sahib  he  was  smoking,  and  taking  the 
measure  of  the  tiger  with  a  tape  ! 

"His  bullet  had  struck  the  beast  be 
tween  the  eyes,  and  the  Lame  One  had 
died  at  the  hands  of  a  man  /" 


149 


CHAPTER   XIII 

An  Affront  to  Gannesha 

"    A    LITTLE  brother  hath  come,"  said 

^*-  Biroo,  as  Ram  Deen  dismounted 
from  the  mail-cart.  The  tall  driver  snatched 
up  the  little  boy  and  hurried  to  his  hut, 
over  the  door  of  which  was  affixed  the 
green  bough  that  is  customary  on  such  oc 
casions,  and  whence  came  the  wailing  of  a 
new-born  child. 

The  inner  apartment  was  guarded  by  a 
lean  old  woman,  who  refused  Ram  Deen 
admittance  thereto,  and  who  would  have 
prevented  even  speech  on  his  part  had  she 
been  able.  But  Ram  Deen  was  not  to  be 
denied  such  solace  as  could  be  gained  from 
the  voice  whose  accents  had  taken  him 
captive  the  first  time  he  had  heard  them. 

The  feeble  wailing  of  the  babe  made  the 
strong  man  tremble. 

"  Tara,  Light  in  Darkness,  is  it  well  with 
thee  ?"  he  asked. 

150 


An  Affront  to  Gannesha 

"Quite  well,  my  lord  and  my  master," 
came  the  faint  answer.  "  Thy  handmaid 
hath  bestowed  a  man-child  upon  thee,  and 
Nana  Debi  will  require  a  kid  of  thee  in 
recompense." 

"  He  shall  have  a  flock  of  goats,  Heart 
of  my  Heart " 

"  Nay,"  interrupted  Tara ;  "  it  is  a  very 
little  child  and  a  kid  will  suffice  ;  but  go 
now,  my  master,  I  am  very  tired  and 
would  fain  sleep." 

"  May  the  stars  in  heaven  shower  their 
blessings  on  thee,  my  Best  Beloved  ;"  and 
with  this  invocation  Ram  Deen  left  the  hut, 
leading  little  Biroo  by  the  hand. 

"See  what  Gunga  Ram  gave  me  but 
now,  father  mine,"  said  Biroo,  unfolding  a 
plaintain  leaf  wherein  was  wrapped  a  sweet 
meat  made  of  rice  and  milk  ;  "  and  he  hath 
a  great  cooking  forward  to-night." 

"Wherefore?"  asked  Ram  Deen. 

"  For  that  a  man-child  hath  come  to 
Nyagong,  as  well  as  Kaladoongie,  this  day." 

"Oh,  ho,"  said  Ram  Deen,  chuckling 
softly,  "we  will  have  speech  with  Gunga 
Ram." 

151 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

When  they  had  arrived  at  the  methai- 
wallah's  booth,  Ram  Deen,  looking  on  the 
thalis  (trays)  heaped  with  sweetmeats  crisp 
from  the  making,  said,  "  Wah  ji,  wah ! 
Gunga  Ram,  is  the  Hurdwar  mela  (fair) 
coming  to  the  Bore  Nuddee,  that  thou 
shouldst  make  such  preparations?" 

"  Nay,  coach -wan  ji,  but  a  man-child 
hath  come  to  the  house  of  the  Jemadar  of 
Nyagong,  and  he  hath  commanded  fresh 
sweetmeats  and  cates  for  a  feast  in  honor 
of  an  honorable  birth." 

"There  is  no  honorable  thing  done  in 
Nyagong,  Gunga  Ram.  They  be  all  thugs 
and  thieves  there,  and  it  shall  not  be  said 
that  Ram  Deen's  friends  at  Kaladoongie 
ate  stale  pooris  whilst  the  Jemadar  of  Nya 
gong,  whose  face  I  have  blackened,  set 
fresh  cates  before  his  guests.  Therefore 
bid  carry  these  sweetmeats  to  my  friends 
who  sit  round  the  Thanadar's  fire,  and  to 
morrow  thou  shalt  make  enough  for  all  the 
people  of  Kaladoongie,  so  that  they  may 
know  that  a  son  hath  been  born  to  Ram 
Deen." 

"But,  coach-wan  ji,"  remonstrated 
152 


An  Affront  to  Gannesha 

Gunga  Ram,  "the  Jemadar's  men  wait  to 
carry  these  things  to  Nyagong." 

"Tell  them,  Gunga  Ram,  that  I  had 
need  of  them  ;  but,  nevertheless,  for  the 
kindness  the  men  of  Nyagong  did  to  little 
Biroo  last  year,  send  them,  on  his  behalf, 
two  rupees'  worth  of  gur  and  parched 
gram  ;"  and  Ram  Deen  laid  the  money  in 
the  sweetmeat  vendor's  palm. 

To  the  impromptu  feast  round  the  fire 
that  evening  Ram  Deen  contributed  also  a 
chatty  of  palm-toddy  that  Goor  Dutt  had 
brought  for  him  from  Moradabad.  By  the 
time  the  circling  hookah  had  crowned  the 
feast  beards  were  wagging  freely  round  the 
fire  ;  and  even  Tulsi  Ram,  the  village  pun 
dit,  most  modest  and  unassuming  of  men, 
was  moved  to  unusual  speech.  Once  more 
Ram  Deen  had  told  the  story  of  the  aveng 
ing  of  Nandha ;  and  the  Thanadar,  whose 
utterances  were  always  sententious,  owing 
to  the  responsibility  and  dignity  of  his 
office,  said,  "  Verily,  the  young  and  not  the 
old  Faringi  is  the  true  subduer  of  Hindoo- 
stan." 

"Thou  sayest  it,  Thanadar  ji,"  assented 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

Tulsi  Ram.  "  I  knew  such  a  young  sahib 
as  he  who  slew  the  lame  tiger  of  Huldwani 
when  I  worked  as  munshi  at  Hurdwar  for 
certain  Faringis  who  had  business  there. 
He  I  speak  of  feared  not  even  the  Gods." 

When  all  eyes  were  turned  upon  the 
pundit,  and  he  found  himself  in  the  trying 
position  of  one  who  was  expected  to  give 
proof  of  his  opinion,  his  natural  modesty 
overcame  him  and  he  was  suddenly  silent. 
It  was  not  till  he  had  swallowed  a  generous 
draught  of  the  toddy  that  his  courage  re 
vived  to  the  point  of  telling  the  following 
narrative,  for  which  his  audience  waited 
patiently  : 

" Brothers,"  he  began,  "some  three 
years  after  the  great  Mutiny  there  came  to 
Hurdwar  two  Faringis,  by  name  Scott 
Sahib  and  Wilson  Sahib,  of  whom  the  lat 
ter  was  a  great  shikari,  as  all  Hindoostan 
is  aware,  and  who  was  further  known 
amongst  the  Faringis  as  '  Pahari  Wilson. ' 

"  They  hired  me  to  cut  down  sal  timber 
on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Gunga  and 
float  it  down  to  Hurdwar,  where  they  es 
tablished  a  post,  over  which  they  set  in 


An  Affront  to  Gannesha 

charge  a  young  Faringi  named  Clements 
Sahib,  whose  munshi  I  was,  and  whose 
duty  it  was  to  stamp  the  timber  with  the 
seal  of  his  employers  and  make  it  into 
rafts  that  were  then  floated  on  to  Allaha 
bad. 

"Clements  Sahib  had  been  found  by 
Pahari  Wilson  Sahib  in  one  of  the  villages 
of  the  Rajah  of  Tiri,  whither  he  had  fled 
from  Cawnpore,  where  his  father  and 
mother  had  been  killed  by  the  people  of 
the  plains  during  the  season  of  the  Mutiny. 

"He  was  a  man  grown  when  he  came  to 
Hurdwar,  speaking  Nagari  and  Padhani, 
and  knowing  well  the  ways  of  our  people. 
And  wherever  he  went  men's  eyes  followed 
him,  for  he  walked  amongst  them  with  the 
air  of  a  master.  His  face  was  scarred 
with  small-pox ;  his  nose  was  curved  like  a 
hawk's,  and  his  nostrils  were  terrible  to 
behold  when  he  was  angered,  which  was 
often,  for  he  lacked  patience  with  men  of 
our  race,  because  of  the  slaying,  and  worse, 
of  his  mother,  which  he  had  witnessed ; 
and  his  words  did  not  often  go  before  his 
blows,  which  were  weighty  by  reason  of  his 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

great  strength.  He  limped,  for  that  his 
right  leg  had  been  broken  by  a  bear  whilst 
he  lived  amongst  the  hill  men. 

"But,  great  and  terrible  as  he  was  on 
land,  the  wonder  of  him  when  he  swam  in 
the  Gunga,  as  he  did  daily,  man  never  saw 
before. 

"  He  feared  nothing,  brothers, — neither 
man  nor  beast,  nor  even  Gannesha,  upon 
whom  he  put  an  affront  one  day,  when  he 
beat  his  priests  in  the  temple  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  God. 

"This  was  the  way  of  it :  There  passed 
daily  through  our  compound,  on  its  way  to 
the  jungle,  a  young,  sacred  bull  that  was 
fed  by  the  priests  of  Gannesha  ;  and  its 
horns  had  silver  tips,  whereon  was  graved 
a  picture  of  the  God  bearing  an  elephant's 
head.  And  because  the  bull  pursued  one 
of  his  dogs,  one  day,  the  sahib  shot  it ;  and 
the  bazaars  of  Hurdwar  buzzed  with  angry 
men. 

"  '  Sahib,'  said  I  to  him,  '  this  is  not  well 
done ;  the  Gods  never  forget  an  insult.' 
But  he  only  laughed. 

"  That  evening,  as  the  sahib  ate  his  meal, 
156 


An  Affront  to  Gannesha 

the  lamps  being  lit,  there  came  an  arrow 
through  an  open  window  and  transfixed  the 
dog  which  was  lying  at  his  feet. 

"The  beast  yelped  as  one  that  is  stricken 
to  the  death,  and  I,  who  sat  at  my  book  in 
the  adjoining  room,  looked  up  as  Clements 
Sahib,  snatching  up  a  gun  from  the  corner, 
ran  to  the  veranda  and  fired  at  a  man 
who  passed  swiftly  through  the  darkling 
garden.  For  answer  there  came  the  low 
ing  of  a  bull ;  and  the  sahib,  being  lame, 
soon  gave  up  the  chase  and  returned  to  the 
house. 

"  By  the  light  of  a  lantern  we  searched 
the  garden,  and  when  we  found  drops  of 
blood  on  the  ground  the  sahib  laughed, 
and  said,  '  Aha !  Tulsi  Ram ;  I  wounded 
the  shikar,  after  all.' 

" '  'Tis  bad  hunting,  sahib,'  I  made 
reply. 

"The  next  moment  he  stopped,  and 
held  the  lantern  to  a  necklace  of  plum 
seeds  and  gold  that  hung  on  the  branch  of 
an  orange  tree.  To  the  necklace  was 
attached  an  agate,  whereon  was  graven  the 
head  of  an  elephant. 
157 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

"When  we  returned  to  the  house  the 
sahib  drew  the  arrow  from  the  dead  dog, 
and  on  the  bolt  of  that,  too,  was  graven 
the  head  of  Gannesha.  And  I  said,  '  Thou 
hast  affronted  the  Gods,  indeed,  sahib ! 
'Twere  well  to  restore  his  beads  to  some 
priest  of  Gannesha.' 

"  'Of  a  surety,'  he  replied,  'when  I  find 
the  owner ;  but,  till  then,  I  will  wear  the 
thing  round  my  own  neck.' 

"The  next  morning,  as  we  rode  on  an 
elephant  through  the  jungle  to  the  river, 
there  came  the  lowing  of  a  bull  from  a 
thicket,  and  an  arrow  whistled  through 
Clements  Sahib's  sola  topee,  and  another 
struck  the  cheroot  from  his  mouth.  So  I 
said,  'The  man  with  the  bow  could  slay 
thee,  sahib,  had  he  a  mind  to  do  so.'  But 
the  sahib  flushed  like  an  angry  dawn,  and 
gave  the  mahout  orders  to  beat  through  the 
thicket  for  the  man  with  the  bull's  voice ; 
whereon  the  bellowing  came  from  behind 
us.  Now  it  was  here,  and  now  there,  but 
never  where  we  looked  for  it,  and,  whenever 
the  sahib  fired  into  some  likely  thicket,  the 
archer  gave  us  further  proof  of  his  skill. 
158 


An  Affront  to  Gannesha 

"'To  the  temple  of  Gannesha!'  shouted 
the  sahib,  roused  to  frenzy,  and  there  was 
that  in  his  face  that  forbade  speech. 

"When  we  reached  the  city,  the  main 
street  was  already  packed  with  a  menacing 
crowd, — for  word  of  our  coming  had  gone 
before  us,  and  the  thoroughfare  resounded 
from  end  to  end  with  lowings  as  of  a  thou 
sand  bulls.  The  weight  of  the  great  beast 
that  bore  us  alone  took  us  through  the 
crowd. 

"When  we  reached  the  gate  of  the 
temple  of  Gannesha,  behold !  the  priests 
formed  a  lane  through  the  court-yard,  and 
the  crowd  fell  back  at  their  bidding.  We 
alighted  from  the  elephant,  and  walked 
through  the  priests  till  we  came  to  the  inner 
door  of  the  temple,  where  stood  a  venerable 
jogi  naked,  save  for  a  loin-cloth,  and  covered 
with  wood-ashes  from  his  head  to  his  heels. 

"'Welcome,  brother,'  he  said,  as  Clem 
ents  Sahib  approached  him ;  '  but  thy  ros 
ary  will  not  admit  thee  farther  than  this, 
and  'tis  not  fitting  that  thou  shouldst  enter 
the  presence  of  Gannesha  without  thy  teeka 
of  purification;'  and,  with  an  agility  that 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

was  surprising  in  such  an  old  man,  he 
sprang  towards  the  sahib  and  touched  him 
on  the  forehead,  at  the  same  time  snatch 
ing  at  the  necklace.  But  the  sahib  swept 
him  aside,  and  the  next  moment  we  en 
tered  the  temple,  the  door  of  which  closed 
with  a  threatening  crash  as  the  last  of  the 
priests  followed  us  in. 

"  When  they  saw  the  sahib  advance  with 
set  purpose  towards  the  great  god  Gan- 
nesha,  they  raised  a  shout  and  ran  upon 
him  ;  and  I,  being  unarmed  and  a  man  of 
peace,  and,  moreover,  a  Brahmin,  slipped 
behind  a  pillar  and  watched  the  beginning 
of  a  great  combat,  wherein  one  man  fought 
with  twenty,  and  they  with  staves  in  their 
hands. 

"  And  the  sahib  waited  not  for  his  foes, 
but,  firing  his  gun  at  their  legs,  he  whirled 
it  aloft  and  hurled  it  into  the  crowd  that 
advanced  upon  him  ;  wherefore  three  priests 
lay  on  the  ground  and  were  as  dead  men. 
And,  ere  they  could  recover  from  their 
confusion,  the  sahib  ran  in  upon  them  with 
clenched  hands,  and  his  face  was  terrible 
to  look  upon. 

160 


An  Affront  to  Gannesha 

j 

"  So  thick  were  they  that  many  of  them 
fell  from  their  brothers'  blows ;  and  when 
ever  the  sahib  struck,  a  man  fell  to  the 
ground  and  remained  there.  Toba  !  toba  ! 
never  saw  I  such  fighting. 

"  When  there  were  but  three  or  four  of 
them  able  to  stand,  they  broke  and  fled  to 
an  inner  shrine,  whence  they  besought  the 
sahib  to  depart  and  molest  them  no  more. 
But  he  said,  '  Nay,  not  till  ye  have  delivered 
up  to  me  him  to  whom  this  rosary  belongs/ 

"  '  It  is  mine,  Faringi  dog/  screamed  the 
old  jogi,  darting  upon  the  sahib  from 
behind  a  pillar,  a  long  knife  in  his  hand. 
The  sahib  had  scarce  time  to  turn,  when 
the  knife  passed  through  the  fleshy  part 
of  his  arm.  The  next  instant  the  sahib 
wrenched  his  weapon  from  the  old  jogi, 
and,  putting  the  necklace  round  him,  he 
bore  him  to  a  window  and  threw  him  into 
the  river  which  flowed  below,  saying, 
'Gunga  will  doubtless  succor  a  follower 
of  Gannesha/ 

"After  I  had  tied  his  handkerchief 
round  his  arm  to  stay  the  bleeding  he  took 
up  his  gun,  and,  opening  the  door  of  the 
ii  161 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

temple,  he  went  forth.  And  the  people 
marvelled  to  see  him  come  out  again. 

"  Having  mounted  his  elephant,  he  spake 
to  those  standing  round,  saying,  '  Dogs  and 
swine !  neither  ye,  nor  your  priests,  nor 
your  Gods  can  avail  against  a  Faringi.  Go 
into  the  temple  and  see  for  yourselves  if  I 
speak  not  the  truth.  Let  no  man  of  Kurd- 
war  cross  my  path  hereafter,  or  I  will 
scourge  the  streets  of  your  city.'  So  the 
crowd  opened  before  us,  and  we  returned 
in  peace. 

"  And  as  the  sahib  dismounted  from  the 
elephant,  I  said,  '  The  teeka,  sahib  :  it  is 
still  on  thy  forehead.' 

"  '  Ah,'  he  exclaimed,  'that  was  what  the 
old  jogi  put  on  me.'  And  he  plucked  it 
off  It  was  made  of  silver  and  stamped 
with  the  image  of  Gannesha  on  both  sides, 
and  the  impress  of  the  stamp  showed  red 
on  the  white  skin  of  the  sahib's  fore 
head. 

"  The  next  morning,  when  I  went  to  my 

work,  the  sahib  called  me  into  his  room, 

and  behold  !  the  stamp  of  Gannesha  showed 

as  brightly  on  his  forehead  as  it  did  the  day 

162 


An  Affront  to  Gannesha 

before  !  and  I  feared  greatly  for  the  sahib, 
for  it  is  no  small  thing  to  affront  a  God. 

"  For  a  whole  week  the  mark  remained 
on  the  sahib,  and  he  wore  his  hat  before  all 
men.  None  dared  to  speak  to  him,  for  he 
answered  mostly  with  blows. 

"'Tulsi  Ram/  said  he  to  me  one  day, 
'tell  the  old  jogi  of  the  temple  of  Gan 
nesha  that  I  desire  speech  with  him.' 

"  And  when  the  old  man  had  come  the 
sahib  spake  :  '  So  Gunga  bare  up  thy  chin, 
swami  ?' 

"  'Ay,  ji ;  and  I  told  him  much  concern 
ing  thee.  Thine  arm  ?' 

""Tis  well/  replied  the  sahib.  'But 
now  remove  me  the  mark  from  my  fore 
head.' 

" '  I  may  not  do  anything  without  the 
permission  of  Gannesha,  whom  thou  hast 
angered.  He  must  be  propitiated  in  a 
manner  befitting  the  sahib's  station/  re 
turned  the  jogi. 

"  '  State  thy  demands,  swami, '  said  the 
sahib. 

"  '  Now,  nay,  not  mine,  sahib,  but  Gan 
nesha' s/  remonstrated  the  old  jogi.     Then, 
163 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

after  musing  awhile,  he  went  on  :  '  The  God 
requireth  of  thee  two  hundred  rupees  for 
the  use  of  his  temple,  and  ten  rupees  a 
month,  for  twenty  months,  to  salve  the 
hurts  of  his  twenty  priests.' 

" '  'Tis  well,'  said  Clements  Sahib,  open 
ing  a  drawer  of  the  table  whereat  he  sat, 
and  pushing  two  hundred  rupees  across  to 
the  old  man.  *  Proceed.' 

"After  the  jogi  had  tied  the  money  in 
his  loin-cloth  he  touched  the  mark  on  the 
sahib's  forehead  with  his  finger,  and,  lo  ! 
at  the  touching  it  disappeared. 

" '  And  what  if  I  should  not  pay  thee 
the  rest  of  thy  demand  ?'  asked  Clements 
Sahib  after  he  had  looked  in  a  mirror  and 
seen  that  the  mark  of  Gannesha  was  gone. 

"  '  Thou  art  a  Faringi,  and  wilt  not  fail- 
of  thy  word,'  replied  the  jogi. 

" '  There  be  bad  Faringis,  swami,  and 
my  heart  inclineth  me  to  their  number.' 

" '  'Twere  easy  to  persuade  thee  to  a 
right  'course,  sahib,'  said  the  old  man, 
pointing  his  finger  at  Clements  Sahib. 
'  Behold  !'  And  the  livid  mark  leapt  out 
on  the  sahib's  forehead  again. 
164 


An  Affront  to  Gannesha 

"  After  the  mark  had  been  removed  once 
more  by  the  jogi,  and  as  he  was  preparing 
to  depart,  Clements  Sahib  said,  '  Come  for 
your  monthly  payment  when  the  new 
moon  shows,  but  cross  not  my  path  at 
any  other  time,  or  harm  shall  befall 
thee.' 

" '  Brave  words,  sahib/  returned  the 
medicant ;  '  and  be  careful,  thyself,  not  to 
insult  the  Gods.  Salaam/  and  he  went 
forth.  So  there  was  peace  between  the 
Gods  and  Clements  Sahib  until  the  jogi  had 
received  three  payments. 

"Then,  on  a  day,  the  sahib  bade  me 
accompany  him  to  the  Hurke  Piree,  for 
he  was  fain  to  catch  the  great  mahser  that 
abound  there,  where  they  feed  on  the  offer 
ings  of  the  pilgrims. 

"  And  I  would  have  prevented  him,  say 
ing,  'The  fish,  Provider  of  the  Poor,  are 
tame  ;  'twere  no  sport  to  catch  them.  Be 
sides,  the  Hurke  Piree  is  holy,  and  'twere 
not  well  to  pollute  the  great  steps  with  the 
killing  even  of  fish.' 

" '  Therefore  it  is  in  my  mind,  O  Brown 
Mouse,  to  catch  fish  for  my  evening  meal/ 
165 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

replied  the  sahib,  his  nostrils  twitching ;  so 
I  spake  no  more. 

"When  the  sahib  had  drawn  forth  the 
first  fish  that  took  his  bait,  there  came  the 
voices  of  an  angry  crowd,  and,  looking  up, 
behold  !  the  great  stairs  were  black  with 
people  ;  and,  taking  four  steps  at  a  bound, 
there  came  towards  us  a  young  priest 
stripped  for  bathing,  and  it  was  Salig  Ram, 
the  greatest  pylwan  (wrestler)  in  Hurdwar. 

"  Ere  the  sahib  could  guess  the  purpose 
of  the  priest,  the  latter  sprang  upon  him, 
and  they  twain  fell  together  into  the  deep 
water. 

"When  they  came  to  the  surface  again, 
the  sahib  had  an  arm  round  Salig  Ram's 
throat,  and  was  beating  him  with  his 
clenched  hand  till  the  blood  ran  down  his 
face,  and  he  spat  forth  a  handful  of  teeth. 
The  priest  was  as  one  who  is  mazed,  crying 
feebly,  '  Ram  dhwy,  ram  dhwy !'  and  he 
was  as  a  frightened  child  in  the  sahib's 
hands. 

"Thinking  that  the  sahib  would  slay 
their  champion  before  their  eyes,  and  so 

desecrate  the  gates  of  heaven,  two  or  three 
1 66 


An  Affront  to  Gannesha 

score  of  angry  Brahmins  leapt  into  the 
river  to  the  rescue  of  Salig  Ram,  and  I 
followed,  likewise,  to  see  the  end  of  the 
matter. 

"Releasing  the  young  priest,  the  sahib 
swam  away  easily  from  those  who  followed, 
slipping  off  his  upper  garments  as  he  pro 
ceeded  down  the  river,  and  then  his  shoes, 
which  he  threw  in  derision  at  those  who 
followed. 

"  Now,  when  he  came  to  the  temple  of 
Gannesha,  there  appeared  in  the  window 
that  overlooks  the  river  the  old  jogi,  who 
swung  something  round  his  head  that 
glittered  in  the  sun  ;  and  he  shouted  aloud, 
'  Gunga,  take  thee  !  Gunga,  take  thee  !' 

"The  sahib  turned  his  face  towards  the 
temple,  and,  as  he  did  so,  the  jogi  threw 
the  thing  he  swung  at  him.  It  flashed  as 
it  circled  through  the  air,  and  settled  over 
the  sahib's  head ;  and,  in  that  instant,  he 
threw  up  his  arms  and  disappeared,  and 
thereafter  a  few  bubbles  came  to  the  sur 
face. 

"  Two  days  afterwards,  the  dead  body  of 
a  Faringi  was  found  ten  miles  below  Hurd- 
167 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

war  and  taken  to  Roorkie,  whither  I  went 
by  order  of  the  sircar,  to  assist  in  the  iden 
tification  of  the  dead  man. 

"  Brothers,  the  corpse  was  that  of  Clem 
ents  Sahib.  Round  his  neck  was  a  rosary  of 
gold  and  plum  seeds,  with  an  agate  amulet ; 
and  on  his  forehead  was  the  presentment 
of  an  elephant's  head,  the  seal  of  Gannesha, 
whom  no  man  may  affront" 


168 


CHAPTER   XIV 

A  Daughter  of  the  Gods 

^  I  X)  those  in  evening  conclave  round  the 
-•-  fire  came  a  long  refrain  sung  on  one 
high  note  by  Goor  Dutt,  as  his  bullock-cart 
approached  the  village.  "She  died  in  the 
night  of  co-o-o-old,"  he  keened.  There 
was  a  pathos  in  his  voice  which  told  of  his 
own  sufferings,  for  the  night  was  frosty, 
rather  than  those  of  some  fictitious  person. 

"What  freight  to-night,  byl-wan?"  in 
quired  the  Thanadar,  when  he  came  within 
speaking  distance. 

"Vessels  of  clay,  and  a  dead  man/'  re 
plied  the  little  bullock  driver. 

Some  one  held  a  torch  to  the  thing  that 
lay  across  the  end  of  the  bullock  driver's 
wagon,  shrouded  in  a  white  cloth,  on  which 
was  a  red  wet  stain  as  big  as  a  man's  hand. 

"  'Tis  Lakhoo,  the  dacoit,"  said  the 
Thanadar,  when  the  face  of  the  corpse 
had  been  uncovered  ;  "  now,  Nana  Debi 
169 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

be  praised  for  his  taking  off!  Some  one 
will  be  the  richer  for  this  deed  by  five 
hundred  rupees." 

Below  the  left  breast  of  the  corpse,  and 
beneath  the  stain  on  the  cloth  that  covered 
it,  was  a  little  hole  that  would  scarce  ad 
mit  the  tip  of  a  man's  ringer,  but  whence, 
nevertheless,  had  issued  the  life  of  one  of 
the  terrors  of  the  Terai.  The  dead  man 
had  been  the  head  of  a  daring  band  of 
dacoits,  whose  depredations  ranged  from 
Raj  pore  to  Bareilly,  and  on  each  of  whose 
heads  was  a  large  reward,  for  they  had  not 
hesitated  to  commit  murder  when  com 
mitting  theft. 

After  Goor  Dutt  had  refreshed  his  inner 
man  and  taken  his  place  at  the  fire,  he 
began  :  "  This  was  the  way  of  it :  This 
evening,  as  I  came  hitherwards,  there 
passed  me  two  doolis,  and  he  who  held 
the  torch  to  light  the  way  was  Lakhoo, 
whom  I  had  seen  once  before  at  the  thana 
at  Moradabad,  whence  he  afterwards  es 
caped.  As  the  doolis  passed,  he  held  the 
torch  to  my  face,  but  I  feigned  sleep,  and 
so  he  did  not  molest  me. 
170 


A  Daughter  of  the  Gods 

"The  baggage,  slung  on  poles  across 
the  shoulders  of  the  bearers,  showed  the 
people  in  the  doolis  to  be  Faringis ;  and  I 
was  minded  to  see  what  would  happen, 
and,  if  need  were,  bring  thee  early  word, 
Thanadar  ji,  as  to  Lakhoo's  doings.  So 
I  tied  my  bullocks  to  a  tree  and  followed 
the  doolis,  treading  where  the  dust  was 
thick  and  the  shadows  deepest. 

"  When  the  doolis  arrived  at  the  path 
that  leads  to  Nyagong,  men  came  out  of 
the  jungle  and  stopped  the  bearers ;  and 
I  crept  behind  a  bael  tree  on  the  edge  of 
the  road  and  within  fifty  paces  of  the  trav 
ellers,  so  that  I  could  see  and  hear  all  that 
passed,  for  the  torch  was  bright  and  the 
night  was  still,  and  Lakhoo  spoke  as  one 
who  knoweth  not  the  need  for  speaking 
low. 

"  And  when  those  who  carried  the  doolis 
knew  that  it  was  Lakhoo  who  had  borne 
the  torch  for  them,  and  that  they  were  in 
the  midst  of  his  men,  their  livers  turned 
to  water.  One,  less  frightened  than  the 
others,  attempted  to  flee,  but  a  bamboo 
lat  descended  on  his  skull,  and  he  lay  as 
171 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

one  dead,  and  the  rest  moaned,  '  Ram 
dhwy,  ram  dhwy !' 

"  '  Ye  Sons  of  Jackals  !  ye  have  naught 
to  fear,'  said  Lakhoo.  'What  were  your 
miserable  dole  for  the  carrying  of  these 
doolis  to  me?  But,  remember,  ye  have 
nor  eyes  nor  ears  now  if  ye  would  have 
them  hereafter !' 

"And  they  whined,  saying,  'We  be 
blind  and  deaf,  Bahadoor;  and  we  know 
nothing,  for  we  be  poor  men. 

" '  Therefore  are  ye  safe,  ye  sons  of 
mothers  without  virtue,  for  they  who  sleep 
in  the  doolis  are  rich,  and  the  family  of 
the  sahib  who  hanged  my  brother  last 
year.  Who  would  crack  dry  bones  for 
sustenance  when  savory  meat  is  at  hand  ?' 

"Thereafter  he  tapped  on  the  roof  of 
one  of  the  doolis,  saying,  'Wake,  mem- 
sahib,  wake  !' 

"'What  is  the  matter,  dooli-wallah ?' 
was  the  reply,  in  the  feeble  voice  of  a 
sick  woman. 

" '  This  is  the  chowki,  khodawund  ;  but 
the  fresh  bearers  are  not  here,  and  those 
who  brought  thee  hither  are  spent  and 
172 


A  Daughter  of  the  Gods 

cannot  proceed  farther.  But  there  are 
those  here  who  will  bear  thee  on  thy  jour 
ney  for  a  proper  price.' 

"  So  she  called  aloud  in  her  own  tongue, 
and  there  came  forth  into  the  night,  from 
the  other  dooli,  a  young  lad  rubbing  the 
sleep  from  his  eyes  and  yawning ;  and 
whilst  he  parleyed  with  his  mother,  the 
curtain  of  her  dooli  was  lifted,  and  a  young 
mem-sahib  rose  from  it  and  stood  beside 
the  boy,  and  we  could  see  they  were 
brother  and  sister,  but  she  was  the  older 
and  taller  by  a  span,  and  in  the  budding 
of  her  womanhood.  The  hair,  that  fell  to 
her  waist,  was  as  spun  gold  in  the  light  of 
the  torches ;  rings  and  stones  flashed  in 
her  ears  and  on  her  fingers,  but  they  were 
nothing  to  the  glances  of  her  eyes,  which 
met  four-square  the  eyes  of  those  to  whom 
she  spoke  ;  and  she  looked  at  those  who 
were  present  as  though  they  were  there  to 
do  her  bidding. 

"When  the  sick  mem-sahib  in  the  dooli 
had  .finished  speaking,  the  younger  one 
addressed  the  masalchi  (torch-bearer),  say 
ing,  '  How  far  is  it  to  the  next  chowki, 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

and  what  do  you  ask  for  taking  us 
there?' 

"  '  Two  kos  (six  miles),  mem-sahib,  and 
the  hire  of  my  men  is  fifty  rupees/  an 
swered  Lakhoo. 

"  '  And  what  did  you  get  for  bringing 
us  here  ?'  asked  she,  turning  to  the  dooli- 
bearers  who  stood  round  them. 

" '  They  are  poor  men,  missy  baba,  and 
know  nothing/  said  Lakhoo,  at  whom  the 
dooli-bearers  looked  for  instructions. 

"'Son  of  a  Pig!'  exclaimed  the  young 
lad,  taking  a  leather  bag  from  his  sister's 
hand  and  throwing  the  money,  a  rupee  at 
a  time,  on  the  ground ;  '  there  are  fifty 
rupees.  Proceed,  for  the  mem-sahib,  my 
mother,  is  sick,  and  must  be  on  the  hills 
ere  the  morning  sun  give  heat, '  and  his  face 
flushed  in  the  torchlight. 

"So  Lakhoo  tied  the  money  in  his  waist 
band,  and,  without  further  speech,  sat  down 
and  smoked  the  hookah  that  was  passed  to 
him. 

"And  after  awhile  the  baba  (boy),  who 
had  been  walking  to  and  fro  with  the  young 
woman,  his  sister,  stopped  opposite  Lakhoo, 


A  Daughter  of  the  Gods 

and  spoke,  saying,  'Why  do  you  not  pro 
ceed,  dooli-wallah?' 

" '  Because  I  am  waiting  for  my  hire, 
baba  ji/  replied  Lakhoo. 

"'I  paid  you  but  now/  exclaimed  the 
young  sahib. 

"  '  The  sahib  is  scarce  awake/  said  Lak 
hoo,  in  a  bantering  tone,  'and  hath  been 
dreaming.'  And  his  men  who  formed  the 
outer  circle  laughed  insolently. 

"  '  Liar  !'  shouted  the  young  sahib,  burst 
ing  into  tears  and  clenching  his  hand  ;  but 
his  sister  laid  a  restraining  finger  on  his 
arm,  and  whispered  in  his  ear. 

"  '  We  will  give  thee  thy  due,  masalchi/ 
she  said,  as  she  went  to  her  mother's  dooli. 

"When  she  returned,  she  put  a  three- 
cornered  bag  of  leather  in  her  brother's 
hand. 

"'The  young  mem-sahib  is  as  generous 
as  she  is  beautiful/  said  Lakhoo,  fixing  hot 
eyes  on  her,  whereat  her  nostrils  twitched  ; 
'and  her  hair  is  more  precious  than  gold.' 
And  as  he  spake,  he  laid  a  desecrating  hand 
on  her  locks. 

"  '  Swine-born  !"  shouted  the  young  lad, 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

and  drawing  from  the  bag  in  his  hand  a  toy 
that  glittered  in  the  torchlight,  he  put  it 
to  Lakhoo's  breast  and  fired.  The  tall  man 
bounded  into  the  air  like  a  stricken  deer, 
and  fell  prone  on  his  face.  As  the  dacoits 
rose  to  their  feet,  I  smote  on  the  branches 
of  the  bael  tree  that  sheltered  me  with  my 
bamboo  staff,  shouting  like  three  men, 
'Thieves,  thieves  !'  So  Lakhoo's  men  fled 
headlong,  and  I  came  forth  from  my  shelter, 
and  salaamed  to  the  baba  and  the  young 
mem-sahib. 

" '  Thou  hast  earned  five  hundred  rupees, 
sahib/  said  I,  '  by  the  killing  of  the  great 
dacoit,  Lakhoo.' 

" '  We  had  been  slain,  an'  it  had  not 
been  for  thee/  said  the  young  mem-sahib. 
'  Who  and  what  art  thou  ?' 

"'Goor  Dutt,  byl-wan,  mem-sahib,'  I 
replied  ;  '  and  it  is  my  highest  reward  to 
have  served  thee  and  thine. ' 

"  *  Now,  nay,  byl-wan,  my  brother, 
Charlie  Sahib,  herewith  bestows  on  thee 
whatsoever  reward  is  due  for  the  killing  of 
this  dog.' 

"'Ay,  and  this  pistol,  too,'  interrupted 
176 


A  Daughter  of  the  Gods 

the  young  lad,  putting  his  glittering  toy  in 
my  hand.  And  he  showed  me  the  wonder 
of  it, — how  it  spake  five  times,  if  need 
were,  and  how  to  charge  it. 

"  Then  they  put  the  dead  man  on  my 
bullock-cart,  which  one  of  those  present 
had  been  sent  to  fetch.  And  when  the 
bearers  took  up  the  doolis,  they  shouted, 
as  one  man,  <  Chali  Sahib  ke  jhai  !'  " 

"  Wah,  byl-wan  ji,  wah  !"  exclaimed  Ram 
Deen,  when  Goor  Dutt  had  finished,  "  thou 
art  taller  than  most  men.  Let  us  honor  a 
man,  my  brothers." 

And  those  who  sat  round  the  fire  sprang 
to  their  feet,  and  woke  the  slumbering  vil 
lage  with  the  heartiness  of  their  salutation, 
as  they  shouted,  "  Goor  Dutt  ji  ke  jhai !" 


12  177 


CHAPTER   XV 

"IcA  Liebe  Dick" 

1  ^ARLY  one  morning  in  December,  in 
1— '  the  year  186 — ,  I  left  my  camp  with 
a  pointer  at  my  heels  to  explore  the  foot 
hills  to  the  northwest  of  Nyagong.  The 
region  abounded  with  iron  ore,  and  the 
mining  syndicate  I  represented  instructed 
me  to  conduct  my  prospecting  in  a  way 
that  would  not  arouse  the  suspicion  of  the 
manager  of  another  company  that  had 
already  established  iron  works  at  Kala- 
doongie.  So  it  speedily  became  noised 
about  in  that  section  of  the  Terai  that  I 
was  one  of  the  many  Englishmen  who 
spend  their  leave  of  absence  in  the  jungle 
for  the  purposes  of  sport. 

There  was  a  shrewd  nip  in  the  air  when 
I  started,  and  the  barrels  of  my  gun  were 
so  cold  that  I  was  glad  I  had  put  on  a  pair 
of  thick  gloves. 

178 


"  Ich  Liebe  Dich" 

The  jungle  was  hardly  awake  when  I 
struck  into  the  path  that  skirted  the  Bore 
Nuddee.  Presently,  a  green  parrot 
"kr-r-r-d"  tentatively,  as  a  faint  flush 
appeared  in  the  cloudless  east.  A  wild 
boar  jumped  a  fence  a  few  hundred  yards 
ahead  of  me,  followed  by  the  sounder,  of 
which  he  was  chief,  as  they  left  the  fields 
they  had  been  marauding  during  the  night. 
A  nilghai,  with  his  wicked-looking  horns, 
soon  followed,  and  lumbered  noiselessly 
away.  These  were  the  thieves  of  the 
Terai,  and  they  were,  naturally,  hurrying 
to  their  coverts  before  the  coming  day 
should  be  upon  them. 

Suddenly,  the  dewy  silence  was  broken 
by  the  invocation  of  a  black  partridge, — 
the  muezzin  of  the  jungle.  "Sobhan 
theri  koodruth  ! "  How  solemnly,  and  with 
what  splendor  of  utterance  and  pause  this 
voice  of  the  Terai  announces  the  miracle 
of  the  morning!  The  cry  was  taken  up[ 
and  passed  on  with  a  significance  that 
dwarfed  the  passing  of  the  fiery  torch  as 
told  by  Scott  in  "The  Lady  of  the  Lake." 
And  immediately  thereafter  the  jungle  was 
179 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

singing  its  many-voiced  matin,  not  the 
least  "notable  note"  of  which  was  the 
challenge  of  the  jungle-cock,  who  is  a 
native  of  the  Terai,  and  whose  vigorous  voice 
is  not  raucous  with  the  civilized  laryngeal 
affections  of  the  "tame  villatic  fowl." 

And  then,  in  the  awakening  of  the  for 
est,  there  came — Italian  opera  !  A  well- 
poised  soprano  voice  silenced  the  jungle 
choir  by  a  brilliantly  executed  chromatic 
scale,  as  though  the  singer  were  trying 
her  voice.  Finding  it  flexible  enough  for 
her  purpose,  she  launched  into  the  difficult 
— and  abominable — aria,  "  Di  tale  amore 
che  dirsi "  in  "  II  Trovatore."  She  sud 
denly  stopped,  as  though  she  were  ashamed 
of  the  rubbish  she  sang ;  and,  after  a  pause 
of  half  a  minute,  my  soul  was  stirred  by 
the  air  of  Beethoven's  immortal  "Ich 
Liebe  Dich,"  sung  to  the  following  words, 
which  were  beautifully  enunciated  : 

I  love  thee,  dear  !     All  words  would  fail 

To  tell  the  true  and  tender  theme  ; 
Such  ardent  thoughts,  and  passion  pale, 

And  humble  suit,  I  fondly  deem, 
Would  need  a  poet's  rapturous  mind. 

Oh  !  if  fit  words  could  but  be  bought, 
180 


"  Ich  Liebe  Dich" 

If  Love's  own  speech  I  could  but  find, 
I'd  sell  my  soul  to  express  my  thought, 
So  you  should  in  Love's  toils  be  caught ! 


Oh  !  then  a  kindlier  sun  would  shine, 

The  vermeiled  flowers  would  look  more  fair, 
The  common  world  would  seem  divine, 

And  daily  things  appear  most  rare  ; 
My  soul,  a  soaring  lark,  would  rise 

To  greet  the  morning  of  thy  love 
So  sweetly  dawning  in  thine  eyes, 

And  in  thy  smiles,  which  should  approve. 


The  tender  charm  of  the  sweet  old  song 
— now  utterly  neglected  for  more  brazen 
utterances,  and  which  only  Beethoven 
could  have  written — was  thoroughly  appre 
ciated  by  the  singer. 

Wishing  to  see  her  without  myself  being 
discovered,  and  hoping  to  hear  her  sing 
again,  I  "stalked"  her — and,  behold,  she 
was  a  Padhani !  I  couldn't  be  mistaken, 
for  she  was  singing  David's  "O  ma  mai- 
tresse,"  as  I  watched  her  from  behind  the 
bole  of  a  great  huldoo  tree. 

A  little  boy,  about  three  years  in  age, 
played  beside  her  as  she  sat  on  a  fallen  tree 
trunk  and  took  part  in  the  matin  of  the 
181 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

Terai.  There  was  a  noble  breadth  between 
her  eyes  that  reminded  one  of  the  Sistine 
Madonna,  and  an  air  of  repose  about  her 
figure  which  was  set  off  by  her  simple  gar 
ments. 

She  was,  without  doubt,  Chambeli,  the 
Padhani  protege  of  the  Fishers,  whose 
flight  from  her  husband,  the  Rev.  John 
Trusler,  immediately  after  her  return  to  the 
Terai,  had  been  the  sensation  of  the  sea 
son  at  Naini  Tal  a  few  years  ago. 

Snapping  a  dry  twig  with  my  foot  to 
attract  her  attention,  I  stepped  into  the 
open  and  approached  her.  Her  first  im 
pulse  was  to  flee,  but  she  quickly  regained 
her  composure  and  awaited  me,  standing, 
her  eyes  meeting  mine  without  the  least 
embarrassment. 

"  Your  singing  attracted  me,"  I  began. 

"  Yes  ?  ' '  she  replied,  evidently  not  at  all 
anxious  to  come  to  my  relief  in  the  awk 
ward  position  I  had  sought. 

"It  was  very  beautiful " 

"And   it   is  finished,"    she   interrupted. 
There  was  a  slight  tone  of  contempt  in  her 
voice  as  she  thus  gave  me  to  understand 
182 


"  Ich  Liebe  Dich" 

that  my  presence  was  unwelcome.  But, 
as  a  student  of  psychology,  I  was  not  to  be 
so  easily  moved  from  my  design  of  "  inves 
tigating  the  case  "  before  me. 

"The  Rev.  John  Trusler  is  dead."  I 
paused  awhile  to  see  how  she  would  be 
affected.  Then,  as  she  gave  no  sign  of 
emotion,  I  went  on,  "  He  hanged  himself 
a  few  days  after  you  left  him." 

"  My  God  !"  she  exclaimed,  putting  her 
hand  to  her  side  and  seating  herself  on  the 
fallen  tree. 

The  child,  who  had  been  clinging  to  his 
mother's  dress  and  regarding  me  with 
round,  brown  eyes,  began  to  cry  when  he 
saw  his  mother's  sudden  emotion.  She 
took  him  up  in  her  arms  and  cuddled  his 
head  to  her  bosom,  saying  in  the  Padhani 
patois,  "  Mea  mithoo,  mea  mithoo  !  hush, 
my  batcha." 

In  the  silence  that  ensued  after  the  child 
had  been  quieted  there  came  the  regular 
stroke  of  a  woodman's  axe,  and  presently 
the  refrain  of  a  Padhani  song  sung  by  a 
man. 

When  the  woman  had  regained  her  calm, 
183 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

she  looked  up  at  me  somewhat  defiantly  and 
said,  "  What  business  had  they  to  come  be 
tween  me  and  my  jungle  mother?  What 
right  had  they  to  impose  moral  shackles  on 
one  who  was  above  their  petty  codes?" 

"  The  Fishers  were  moved  by  kindness, 
surely  ;  they  educated  you,  and  Christian 
ized  you,  and  through  them  you  met  and 
married  an  honorable  man." 

"  Educated  me,  forsooth!"  she  exclaimed 
with  scorn,  her  nostrils  twitching;  "they 
robbed  me  of  my  five  senses,  and  gave  me 
instead — accomplishments.  Can  you  tell 
the  time  of  the  day  from  the  sun,  sir  ?  Can 
you  say  when  the  sambhur  passed  whose 
track  is  at  your  feet,  and  how  many  wolves 
were  in  the  pack  that  followed  him  ?  Would 
your  sense  of  smell  lead  you  to  a  pool  of 
fresh  water  in  mid-jungle?  Can  you  feel 
the  proximity  of  a  crouching  leopard  with 
out  seeing  it  ?  What  sort  of  education  is 
it  that  neglects  the  senses  ?  Oh,  the  high 
est  product  of  your  civilization — your 
poet-laureate,  Tennyson — felt  the  same 
thing  stir  in  his  pulses  when  he  wrote 
*  Locksley  Hall,'  and  deprecated  the  '  por- 
184 


"  Ich  Liebe  Dich" 

ing  over  miserable  books'  with  blinded  eye 
sight." 

"  '  Better  fifty  years  of  Europe  than  a 
cycle  of  Cathay,'"  I  quoted,  as  she  paused 
in  her  rapid  discourse. 

"  For  the  European,  perhaps  ;  not  for 
the  Chinaman.  No,  I  have  no  feeling  of 
gratitude  towards  those  you  speak  of;  for 
the  large  freedom  of  the  Terai  they  gave 
me  a  brick  cage  in  London  ;  they  gave 
me  endless  crowds  of  miserable  men  and 
women  for  these,  my  green  brothers,  who 
are  always  happy,"  and  she  put  out  her 
hand  and  caressed  a  tree  that  grew  beside 
her. 

"  As  for  Christianity,"  she  resumed,  "  it 
is  but  one  facet  in  the  jewel,  morality. 
Christ  was  but  an  adept,  I  take  it,  who  at 
tained  to  his  miraculous  powers — as  do  our 
rishis  and  jogis — by  prayer  and  fasting  and 
meditation.  I  cannot  see  that  Christian 
vices  are  fewer  or  more  venial  than  those 
of  our  people." 

"But  don't  you   miss  your  books,  and 
the  keeping  in  touch  with  the  progress  of 
civilization  ?"  I  asked. 
185 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

"  Must  I  quote  '  books  in  the  running 
brooks'  to  you  ?  What  book  is  there  like 
this  book  of  God's  ?"  and  she  swept  her  arm 
round  her.  "  And  if  my  son  grow  up  to 
be  brave  and  strong,  that  will  be  civiliza 
tion  enough  for  me." 

"  But  your  music  ?" 

"  Ah  !  that  is  the  only  thing  I  miss.  But 
I  recollect  all  of  Schumann's  songs  and 
Schubert's,  some  of  Beethoven's — and  then 
I  make  songs  of  my  own  to  fit  the  moods 
of  my  jungle  mother,  and  I  have  some 
small  skill  in  weaving  words  for  them." 

"And  the  man  who  hanged  himself?" 

"  He  was  no  man,"  she  flashed  ;  "  who 
had  not  the  strength  of  a  girl,  and  who 
was  as  weak-eyed  as  the  bat  in  daytime  ! 
You  shall  see  a  man  indeed,  one  who  fears 
not  to  track  the  tiger  afoot,  and  who  even 
beats  me  when  he  sees  fit,"  and  she  called 
aloud,  "  Aho  !  Kali  Dass,  aho  !" 

The  sound  of  the  woodman's  axe  ceased, 
and  presently  we  heard  some  one  approach 
ing  through  the  jungle. 

"  'Twere  better  that  he  should  know 
from  me  that  you  and  I  had  had  speech 
186 


"  Ich  Liebe  Dich" 

together,  than  that  he  should  learn  it  from 
the  Terai,  for  our  men  are  very  terrible 
when  they  are  wrought  upon  by  jealousy." 
Then,  after  a  pause,  she  went  on,  "  Don't 
speak  to  me  in  English  in  his  presence. 
He  won't  like  it." 

She  rose  and  half  veiled  her  face  with 
her  chudder,  as  a  splendid  young  Padhan 
bearing  an  immense  load  of  wood  entered 
the  glade.  He  threw  down  his  burden  as 
soon  as  he  perceived  me,  and,  snatching 
up  his  axe,  advanced  menacingly  towards 
me.  He  was  a  bronze  Apollo,  with  the 
air  of  freedom  that  is  native  to  mountain 
eers  and  woodsy  folks. 

"  The  sahib  intended  no  harm,  Kali  Dass," 
began  the  woman  ;  "  and  he  hath  given 
me  tidings  of  his  death." 

"  What  of  it  ?     He  was  but  a  quail." 

"  But  now  canst  thou  become  a  Christian, 
and — marry  me." 

"  Marry  one  who  was  twice  a  widow  ? 
Nana  Debi  forbid  !  I  must  admonish  thee 
when  we  return  to  our  hut  Come." 

Fearing  that  any  further  interest  in  the 
case  on  my  part  would  but  increase  the 
187 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

severity  of  her  punishment,  I  turned  down 
the  jungle  path. 

Just  before  leaving  the  glade  I  looked 
back  ;  the  woman  had  one  knee  on  the 
ground,  and  with  outstretched  arms  she 
was  balancing  the  load  of  wood  that  Kali 
Dass  was  putting  on  her  head. 


188 


CHAPTER   XVI 


The    Smoking   of  a     Horneti 
Nest 


"T^HE  'big  rains'  will  begin  to-night," 
•*-     said  the  bunnia  at  Lai  Kooah,  as 
Ram  Deen  took  his  seat  on  the  mail-cart 

"  And  there  will  be  much  lightning  and 
thunder,"  added  one  of  the  by-standers, 
"the  night  is  so  still." 

The  sky  was  inky,  and  the  Terai  awaited 
the  coming  storm  in  a  breathless  silence 
which  was  only  emphasized  by  the  parting 
blasts  of  Ram  Deen's  bugle.  The  horses 
had  their  ears  twitched  forward  apprehen 
sively,  and  started,  every  now  and  then,  at 
the  objects  revealed  by  the  light  of  the 
lamps.  A  mile  or  so  beyond  Lai  Kooah  a 
few  heavy  drops  of  rain  pattered  on  the 
broad  leaves  of  the  overarching  huldoos. 
Suddenly  the  sky  was  rent  by  a  streak  of 
lightning,  —  the  avant  courier  of  the  mighty 
monsoon,  —  and  it  was  immediately  followed 
189 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

by  the  terrific   thunder  that  bayed  at  its 
heels. 

In  the  intensified  silence  that  ensued 
Ram  Deen  blew  his  bugle  to  reassure  the 
frightened  horses.  He  had  barely  ceased 
when  there  came  the  sharp  crack  of  a 
pistol-shot,  and  a  far  cry,  "  Ram  dhwy  ! 
ram  dhwy  !  Aho  !  Ram  Deen,  aho  !" 

"  Tis  the  voice  of  Goor  Dutt,"  said  the 
hostler,  "and  he  looketh  on  fear." 

Ram  Deen  urged  his  team  into  a  flying 
gallop  as  the  storm  struck  the  jungle  and 
woke  its  mighty  voices.  Wind  and  rain, 
and  trees  with  leafless  branches  for  stringed 
instruments,  made  an  elemental  orchestra 
that  discoursed  cataclysmic  music. 

Whilst  the  thunder  crackled  and  crashed 
overhead  to  the  steady  and  sullen  roar  of 
the  rain  the  horses  came  to  a  sudden  stand 
still.  In  the  feeble  lamplight  Ram  Deen 
discerned  a  man  lying  in  the  middle  of  the 
road.  Taking  one  of  the  lamps,  he  held 
it  to  his  face.  It  was  Goor  Dutt,  the  little 
bullock  driver.  He  was  unconscious,  and 
had  a  deep  wound  on  his  head  from  which 
the  blood  was  still  welling. 
190 


The  Smoking  of  a  Hornets'  Nest 

Hanging  on  a  wild  plum-tree  that  grew 
on  the  edge  of  the  road  was  a  blood 
stained  turban  that  fluttered  in  the  storm. 
Tying  it  securely  to  the  branch  whence  it 
hung,  Ram  Deen  placed  the  unconscious 
bullock  driver  at  the  bottom  of  the  mail- 
cart,  the  hostler  supporting  his  head. 

Arrived  at  Kaladoongie,  Ram  Deen 
roused  the  native  apothecary  at  the  dis 
pensary.  Goor  Dutt  was  carried  in  and 
laid  on  a  charpoi,  and  whilst  the  apothe 
cary  attended  to  his  hurts  Ram  Deen 
knocked  on  the  Thanadar's  house,  saying, 
"Wake,  Thanadar  ji.  There  be  bad  men 
abroad  to-night,  and  blows  to  pay." 

When  the  two  friends  returned  to  the 
dispensary  Goor  Dutt  was  looking  about 
him  in  a  dazed  fashion.  The  stimulant  ad 
ministered  to  him  had  begun  to  take  effect, 
and  the  sight  of  the  tall  driver  roused  him 
to  a  recollection  of  the  events  of  the  night. 

"Lakhoo's  men,"  said  he,  feebly.  "I 
counted  five  by  the  light  of  the  torch  they 
burned.  They  beset  me,  and  doubtless  I 
had  been  slain,  but  they  heard  thy  bugle, 
and,  whilst  they  hesitated,  I  shouted  to 
191 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

thee,  and,  freeing  one  hand,  I  drew  the 
pistol  Charlie  Sahib  gave  me  and  fired 
once,  and  then  a  great  darkness  fell  upon 
me." 

Whilst  the  Thanadar  roused  a  couple  of 
his  men  Ram  Deen  slipped  into  his  own 
garden  to  release  Hasteen,  for  the  great 
dog  would  be  needed  in  the  hunting  of 
that  night 

The  sky  was  emptying  itself  in  great 
sheets  of  rain  as  the  mail-cart  sped  away 
with  the  dog  running  beside  it.  When 
they  reached  the  tree  to  which  the  turban 
was  tied  Ram  Deen  removed  it  and  held  it 
out  to  Hasteen,  who,  after  sniffing  at  it  for 
a  moment,  started  off  at  a  trot,  with  his 
nose  to  the  ground.  But  the  scent  was 
bad,  owing  to  the  heavy  rain,  and  the  dog 
began  to  run  round  in  widening  circles  in 
his  search  for  a  trail,  whilst  the  men  stayed 
on  the  edge  of  the  road.  Suddenly  the 
dog  bayed,  and,  following  the  direction  of 
the  sound,  they  came  up  with  him  as  he 
stood  by  Goor  Dutt's  cart,  from  which  the 
bullocks  had  been  removed. 

"The  man  stricken  by  Goor  Dutt  rode 
192 


The  Smoking  of  a  Hornets'  Nest 

hence  on  a  bullock,"  said  Ram  Deen,  who 
had  been  examining  the  tracks  in  the  mire 
with  a  lantern  ;  "  there  be  signs  of  but  four 
men  going  hence,  Thanadar  Sahib,  whereas 
five  walked  beside  the  wagon  till  it  stopped 
here." 

The  cart  was  in  the  jungle  about  a  hun 
dred  yards  from  the  road.  The  noise  made 
by  its  progress  had  been  entirely  drowned 
in  the  roar  of  the  storm,  so  that  Ram  Deen 
had  not  heard  it. 

"See,  sahib,"  said  Ram  Deen,  pointing 
to  the  trail  made  by  the  heavy  animals  in 
their  course  through  the  jungle,  and  which 
not  even  the  rain  had  effaced,  "we  shall 
not  need  Hasteen's  nose,  but  his  teeth,  ere 
the  daybreak." 

Fastening  the  turban  taken  from  the  tree 
round  Hasteen's  neck,  Ram  Deen  struck 
into  the  trail,  the  dog  walking  beside  him, 
whilst  the  others  followed  in  single  file. 
The  tall  driver  stopped  occasionally  to 
examine  the  ground  with  his  lantern.  He 
had  with  him  the  revolver  given  to  him  by 
Captain  Barfield,  but  his  main  dependence 
was  on  the  long  bamboo  club,  loaded 
13  i93 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

with   lead,  which  he  carried  in  his    right 
hand. 

The  events  that  followed  were  thus  told 
to  Captain  Fisher,  the  deputy  commis 
sioner  of  the  district,  who  came  down  the 
next  day  from  Naini  Tal  to  investigate 
them. 

"  Sahib,"  began  Ram  Deen,  whose  left 
arm  was  in  a  sling,  "  it  was  thus  :  We  fol 
lowed  the  trail  that  led  along  the  right 
bank  of  the  Bore  Nuddee,  till  we  came  to 
the  ford,  where  the  stream  was  now  a  roar 
ing  torrent  owing  to  the  great  rain,  which 
never  ceased  to  drum  on  the  Terai  all  that 
night. 

"  Here  those  we  sought  had  crossed  to 
the  left  bank,  and  then  continued  up  the 
hill  to  the  garden  of  Thapa  Sing ;  through 
the  door  of  the  hut,  wherein  Heera  Lai, 
who  is  kin  to  me,  used  to  dwell,  there  came 
the  gleam  of  firelight 

"  Then  the  Thanadar  bid  stand,  saying, 
''Twere  well  to  take  them  alive,  Ram 
Deen,  so  that  the  sircar  may  not  be  de 
spoiled  of  the  hanging  of  them.  What 
sayest  thou  ?' 

194 


The  Smoking  of  a  Hornets'  Nest 

"  '  Such  as  these  cannot  be  taken  alive, 
Thanadar  ji,'  I  replied. 

"  '  What  would  you  ?'  he  inquired. 

"  '  They  be  hornets,  khodawund,'  I  made 
answer,  '  and  must  be  smoked  out  of  their 
nest.  When  they  come  forth  we  will  take 
them  as  we  best  may.' 

"  So  we  proceeded  without  noise  to  the 
hut,  and  when  we  reached  it  the  lantern 
showed  us  that  the  Thanadar,  and  I,  and 
Hasteen,  whom  I  had  unloosed,  were  alone. 
For,  behold,  the  policemen  had  fled,  not 
having  stomach  for  blows ;  their  blood 
had  turned  to  milk  and  their  livers  to 
water.  For  their  fathers  are  jackals  and 
their  mothers  without  honor ;  and  the  sahib 
will  doubtless  bestow  upon  them  the  reward 
due  to  their  valor. 

"And  the  Thanadar  growled  in  his 
beard  at  the  baseness  of  his  men,  and 
whispered,  'Those  dogs  of  mine  have 
made  it  necessary  that  we  should  slay 
these  within,  Ram  Deen,  should  they  re 
fuse  to  surrender,  instead  of  taking  them 
alive ;'  and  I  nodded  assent. 

"We    could    hear    the    wounded    man 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

groan  inside  the  hut,  and  one  said,  '  Never 
mind,  Kunwa,  I  slew  Goor  Dutt  for  thy 
hurt,  and  had  these  who  are  with  us  been 
men  instead  of  children,  we  had  slain  the 
driver  of  the  mail-cart,  whose  voice  is 
greater  than  his  strength,  and  his  legs  but 
female  bamboos.' 

"  'Thou  art  a  liar!'  I  shouted,  kicking  in 
the  thatch  door  of  the  hut,  which  fell  in  the 
fire  on  the  hearth.  In  a  moment  the  hut  was 
in  a  blaze.  Two  men  ran  forth  through 
the  doorway,  and,  in  the  light  of  the  burn 
ing  hut,  I  could  see  other  twain  breaking 
through  the  wall  of  thatch  at  the  rear, 
whilst  Kunwa,  the  wounded  man,  who  was 
unable  to  move,  greeted  with  appalling 
screams  the  death  that  approached  him. 

"  <  I  will  attend  to  these,  Thanadar 
Sahib  !'  I  shouted  ;  '  do  thou  and  Hasteen 
look  to  those  that  escape  from  the  rear.' 
And  the  Thanadar,  calling  the  dog,  ran  to 
the  back  of  the  hut. 

"  Seeing  but  one  man  in  front  of  them, 

the  dacoits — strong  men  and  tall — ran  in 

upon  me.     I  anticipated  the  blow  of  one, 

and  he  fell  to  the  ground  without  even  a 

196 


The  Smoking  of  a  Hornets'  Nest 

cry ;  but  the  club  of  the  other  had  crushed 
my  skull,  had  I  not  warded  it  with  my  left 
arm,  which  was  broken  thereby ;  and  ere 
my  assailant  could  again  swing  his  weapon 
I  had  stretched  him  beside  his  companion. 

"  From  the  other  side  of  the  burning 
hut  came  the  sounds  of  a  terrible  combat 
and  of  heavy  blows.  I  made  what  haste  I 
could,  and  as  I  turned  the  corner  of  the 
hut  I  stumbled  over  the  body  of  the 
Thanadar.  Six  paces  beyond  was  Has- 
teen,  and  he  was  serving  the  sircar  as  he 
best  might.  He  stood  over  one  of  the 
dacoits,  whom  he  held  by  the  throat,  whilst 
the  other  rained  blows  on  him,  till  I  made 
the  fight  an  equal  one  between  dog  and 
man  ;  and  then,  because  my  arm  pained 
shrewdly,  I  was  fain  to  sit  on  a  fallen  tree, 
whilst  Hasteen  finished  the  fray  in  his  own 
manner ;  the  man  in  the  hut,  meanwhile, 
uttering  screams  that  even  a  strong  man 
might  not  hear  unmoved. 

"  But  he  on  the  ground  could  not  scream 

by  reason  of  the  fangs  at  his  throat ;  he 

only  gurgled,  and  rattled  dreadfully,  and 

the  foam  flew  from  his  lips  as  the  great 

197 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

dog  shook  him  from  side  to  side.  When 
his  head  swayed  helplessly  I  knew  he  was 
dead,  so  I  bade  Hasteen  release  him  ;  and 
the  man  in  the  hut  having  ceased  his  out 
cries,  I  made  shift  to  raise  the  Thanadar, 
and  lo,  he  was  dead,  and  the  Terai  bereft 
of  a  great  and  a  good  man,  and  I  of  the 
best  of  friends.  And  now,  as  the  sahib 
knoweth  but  too  well,  there  be  none  in  the 
Terai  to  maintain  the  orders  of  the  sircar." 

"Nevertheless,  Ram  Deen,"  said  Cap 
tain  Fisher,  "  the  sircar  will  look  to  you  in 
the  future  to  be  a  terror  to  evil-doers,  and 
here  are  papers  making  you  Thanadar  of 
this  district  What  say  you  ?" 

' '  The  sircar  is  my  father  and  my  mother, 
Fisher  Sahib ;  but  this  thing  may  not  be. 
I  have  neither  learning  nor  wisdom  to  up 
hold  the  English  raj  as  it  should  be  upheld. 
Besides,  who  is  to  drive  the  mail-cart?" 

"There  be  drivers  a-plenty,  Ram  Deen, 
but  not  many  who  will  strike  a  blow  for 
the  right  and  defend  the  poor  and  the 
fatherless.  Thy  munshi  will  instruct  thee 
in  the  duties  of  thy  office.  But  beyond 
all  things,  remember  this  :  There  must  be 
198 


The  Smoking  of  a  Hornets'  Nest 

no  budmashes  in  thy  district,  Ram  Been, 
Thanadar."  Then,  before  Ram  Deen  could 
make  reply,  he  went  on,  "  Oh,  yes,  the  re 
ward  ;  thou  wilt  receive  from  the  sircar  two 
thousand  five  hundred  rupees  for  the  slay 
ing  of  Lakhoo's  men." 

"But  Goor  Dutt  slew  one  of  them, 
Captain  Sahib,  and  Hasteen  another." 

"Well,  give  Goor  Dutt  what  thou  wilt 
and  bestow  a  collar  of  honor,  with  spikes 
of  brass,  on  Hasteen.  Thou  art  Thanadar 
henceforth,  and  the  sircar  expects  you  to 
be  just  in  all  your  dealings." 

And  as  he  finished,  word  having  gone 
through  Kaladoongie  that  Ram  Deen  was 
now  Thanadar,  the  men  who  crowded  round 
the  Deputy  Commissioner's  tent  raised  a 
mighty  shout :  "  Ram  Deen,  Thanadar,  ke 
jhai !" 

"What  meant  that  shout?"  asked  Tara, 
when  Ram  Deen  returned  home  an  hour 
later. 

"Congratulation  to  thy  Lumba  Deen 
(long  legs)  for  a  trifle  of  money  and  some 
little  honor  as  salve  for  a  broken  bone, 
Light  in  Darkness." 

199 


The  Taming  of  the  Jungle 

"What  honor?"  she  inquired,  eagerly. 

"But  the  money  was  the  greater,  my 
Star " 

( '  Now,  nay,  my  lord  trifles  with  me. 
The  honor,  the  honor  !"  she  demanded. 

"And  if  I  were  to  tell  thee  that  they 
have  made  me  Thanadar  of  this  Zemin- 
daree?" 

"  'Tis  but  thy  due,  my  lord ;  and  thou 
hast  but  prepared  the  way  for  thy  man- 
child.  Said  I  not  many  moons  ago  that 
he  should  be  Thanadar  of  Kaladoongie 
one  day !" 

"See  to  it  that  he  is  brave  and  strong, 
Heart  of  my  Heart,  else  were  he  better 
dead." 

"I  will  help  her  in  the  bringing  up 
of  thy  son,"  said  a  tall  woman, — she  of 
the  muffled  face, — coming  into  the  room  ; 
"  and  he  shall  be  worthy  of  thee,  who  art 
now  as  great  as  thou  hast  been  always 
good." 

THE    END. 


200 


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** 


LD  21-50m-l,'3 


3439C7 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


